- Ekologistak Martxan conducted a study with data on the use of pesticides in 2020. Pesticide residues were detected in 35% of food, mainly in fruits, vegetables and fish. They accuse the institutions of the Spanish State of a lack of information and authorization for prohibited toxic substances.
Ekologistak Martxan has announced that 35% of the food sold in Spain is contaminated by pesticides, a type of pesticides. The percentage is higher for fruit and vegetables: It's 41 percent. These toxic substances also include those of banned use and those that experts discourage because of their high levels of toxicity.
Ekologistak Martxan’s analysis is based on the latest official data from the 2020 Pesticide Residue Control Programme, collected by the Spanish Food Consumption, Safety and Nutrition Agency (AESAN). They report that Spain is studying a decreasing sample of food, which causes the lack of information of citizens. Of the 100,000 foods, European countries study an average of 17.25 foods. Only in Spain is a sample of 3.26 products analyzed.
Pesticide use has increased with crops and industrial livestock. The European Union set a halving of the use of pesticides by 2030, but more and more has been detected in the Spanish State. It was the most widely used country in Europe in 2020:75,775 tons.
In the sample analyzed, 125 types of pesticides have been identified. 64 of them are prohibited. Many of them are accepted by Spain as "exceptional", but Ekologistak Martxan has rejected that in most exceptional cases there is no reason to use substances. 13 are highly toxic and have been replaced by experts. The environmental organisation requires the Spanish Government to legislate for them.
Oranges and sweet peppers are the most contaminated food. In animal by-products, fish is the most polluted.