Campaigners say the government should ban 25 pesticides containing so-called “forever chemicals” after potentially harmful toxins were found in more than half of tested food and drink available to Britons.

The chemical PFA, a toxin that takes centuries to break down in the environment, was found in more than 3,300 samples tested by the British government in 2022.

Since PFA can accumulate in organisms and is associated with serious consequences healthy In this context, the pan-UK campaign group is calling for a ban on 25 PFA pesticides used in the UK, including six classified as “highly hazardous”.

Of all the items tested, strawberries were the most affected, with 95% of the 120 samples tested containing PFA.

this food and drink According to a report by the Environment Ministry’s Pesticide Residues Advisory Committee (PRiF), some 401 pesticide residues were tested.

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Analysis showed that at least 15% of samples of peaches, cucumbers, apricots and beans contained PFA.

PRiF reported that 56.4% of the samples tested contained residues of the pesticide they were testing for, but this was below the maximum residue levels (MRL) allowed by law for food.

At the same time, 1.8% of samples contained pesticide residues exceeding legal standards.

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carries out risk assessments of all pesticide residues found during the testing programme, and will take further action if a health risk is identified, the report said.

“It is important to note that even if residue levels in food are above the MRL, the HSE rarely identifies any possible risk to the health of people consuming the food,” it said.

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However, the Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK) says MRLs do not guarantee that the amounts of pesticides found in food are safe.

The group also claims it fails to take into account the many other ways consumers may be exposed, such as plastic food packaging, drinking water and various household products.

Pan UK analyzed the test results and found 61 per cent of 109 grape samples contained PFA, 56 per cent of 121 cherry samples, 42 per cent of 96 spinach samples and 38 per cent of 96 tomato samples.

Nick Mole from Pan UK said PFA pesticides are “absolutely unnecessary for growing food” and urged the government to ban 25 pesticides currently in use.

“Given the growing evidence linking PFA to serious diseases such as cancer, it is deeply concerning that UK consumers have no choice but to ingest these chemicals, some of which may be present long into the future. remain in their bodies for a period of time.

“We urgently need to better understand the health risks associated with consuming these ‘forever chemicals’ and do everything we can to keep them out of the food chain,” he said.

Ministers should also step up support for farmers to help them end their reliance on chemicals and adopt safer, more sustainable alternatives, the group said.

Dr Shubhi Sharma of the Chem Trust, which works to protect people and animals from harmful chemicals, called for a total ban on PFA because she said they “now pollute every corner of the planet”.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told Sky News: “We set strict limits on the levels of pesticide residues in consumer food and animal feed.

“These limits are set to protect public health and are below levels considered safe to eat and apply to food produced in the UK and food imported from other countries.”