Occurrence of Pesticide Residues in Harvested Products of Various Crops from European Conventional and Organic Farming Systems

Abstract

The occurrence of 192 pesticide residues was analysed in harvested products from conventional (CF) and organic farms (OF) across European countries focusing on vineyards, orchards, vegetables, oilseeds, and cereals. Pesticide residues were detected in 85.7% of CF samples, with 71.4% having multiple residues, and in 40.0% of OF samples, with 13.7% having multiple residues. Total and median concentrations of detected residues were higher in CF than OF samples. The highest total concentration per sample was found in Portugal (214 µg/kg) for CF and Czechia (37 µg/kg) for OF. Fungicide pyrimethanil (290 µg/kg), herbicide glyphosate (192 µg/kg), and insecticide phosmet (177 µg/kg) showed the highest median concentrations in CF. Insecticide cypermethrin had the highest median concentration (88 µg/kg) in OF, while other substances were ≤10 µg/kg. OF had a higher proportion of banned substances than CF. In 12.2% of CF samples and 5.3% OF samples, the residue levels exceeded maximum residue levels. Our results highlight the pesticide presence in crops is affected not only by farming systems but also by agricultural practices and crop types. The current risk assessment focuses on single substances which does not account for the exposure to multiple residues, which was prevalent in CF samples.

Keywords: harvested commodities, conventional/organic farming system, pesticide mixtures, maximum residue level, plant protection products