Best and Worst Foods for Pesticide Residues in the UK

1. The 20 fruit and vegetables with the highest prevalence of multiple pesticide residues
on produce tested in the UK between 2011-2015 (sorted by multiple residues)

Single residue Multiple residue

Ranking Produce occurrence % occurrence %

1 Oranges 100.00 100.00

2 Soft citrus 100.00 95.37
3 Lemons and limes 94.44 92.59
4 Strawberries 91.67 87.50
5 Pears 93.82 86.45
6 Grapes 89.47 75.73
7 Oranges (Seville) 78.76 74.34
8 Herbs 75.79 71.58
9 Apples 82.02 65.29
10 Cherries 86.46 63.54
11 Peaches and nectarines 83.33 62.50
12 Pineapple 90.74 62.04
13 Apricots 81.94 61.11
14 Banana 77.22 58.86
15 Prepacked salad leaves 74.85 58.08
16 Spring greens & kale 68.89 52.22
17 Pre-prepared salad leaves 73.24 52.11
18 Cucumber 64.43 40.21
19 Berries 54.17 39.58
20 Raspberries 58.86 35.44

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2. The 20 fruit and vegetables with the lowest prevalence of multiple pesticide residues on
produce tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)

Single residue Multiple residue

Ranking Produce occurrence % occurrence %

1 Beetroot 7.41 0.00

2 Cauliflower 0.00 0.00
3 Corn (on the cob) 0.00 0.00
4 Figs 4.17 0.00
5 Mushrooms 33.33 0.00
6 Onions 70.83 0.00
7 Rhubarb 2.44 0.00
8 Swede 14.00 0.00
9 Turnip 0.00 0.00
10 Peas 11.46 1.04
11 Spring onions 25.00 1.39
12 Asparagus 8.33 2.08
13 Radish 53.70 3.70
14 Avocado 44.44 4.44
15 Peas without pods 23.96 5.21
16 Sweet potato 58.33 5.56
17 Leeks 15.63 6.25
18 Broad beans 43.75 8.33
19 Pumpkin and squash 31.25 8.33
20 Broccoli 25.60 9.52

3. Ranking for presence of single and multiple pesticide residues in starchy food and grain
tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)

Single residue occurrence Multiple residue

Ranking Produce % occurrence %

1 Oats 96.92 83.08

2 Wheat 95.71 65.71
3 Cereal bars 89.58 33.33
4 Rice 44.20 31.88
5 Bread 61.93 20.36
6 Flour (wheat) 92.81 20.14
7 Crackers 29.17 16.67
8 Noodles 38.89 5.56
9 Lentils 8.33 2.38
10 Pulses 11.11 1.85
11 Rice cakes 12.50 1.39
12 Bread (gluten free) 0.00 0.00
13 Bread (part bake) 75.00 0.00

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4. Ranking for presence of single and multiple pesticide residues on produce of animal
origin tested in the UK between 2011–2015 (sorted by multiple residues)

Single residue Multiple residue

Ranking Produce occurrence % occurrence %

1 Chicken (processed) 45.83 8.33

2 Smoked fish 22.69 7.87
3 Cheese (hard) 19.44 4.17
4 Pork (processed products) 29.63 2.78
5 Butter 23.12 2.01
6 Cheese 7.04 1.85
7 Lamb 21.11 1.11
8 Fish (fresh water) 12.84 0.92
9 Oily fish 5.50 0.92
10 Beef 0.00 0.00
11 Burgers 4.17 0.00
12 Crème fraiche 37.50 0.00
13 Eggs 2.22 0.00
14 Honey 0.00 0.00
15 Liver 8.59 0.00
16 Milk 0.13 0.00
17 Minced meat 0.00 0.00
18 Pork 1.11 0.00
19 Poultry meat 0.00 0.00
20 Prawns 0.00 0.00
21 Shellfish 0.00 0.00
22 Venison 0.00 0.00
23 White fish 0.62 0.00
24 Yoghurt 0.00 0.00

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5. Ranking of presence of single and multiple pesticide residues on “other groceries”
tested in the UK 2011 – 2015 (sorted by multiple residues)

Single residue Multiple residue

Ranking Produce occurrence % occurrence %

1 Raisins, currants, sultanas 83.67 63.27

2 Grapes (dried) 72.92 52.08
3 Pesto 69.57 43.48
4 Beans (tinned) 83.33 41.67
5 Crisps 56.30 31.93
6 Spices 20.00 29.09
7 Herbal infusions and tea 48.15 22.22
8 Cherries (tinned) 72.22 19.44
9 Speciality beans (dried) 29.79 19.15
10 Wine 54.55 18.18
11 Apple puree 36.73 16.33
12 Strawberries (tinned) 29.17 8.33
13 Orange juice 18.57 6.43
14 Tea 10.00 4.44
15 Oranges, mandarins (tinned) 73.33 3.33
16 Fruit juice (other) 7.29 1.04
17 Apple juice 0.00 0.00
18 Beer 5.56 0.00
19 Chocolate 0.00 0.00
20 Coffee 18.18 0.00
21 Edible seeds 2.78 0.00
22 Nuts 16.67 0.00
23 Olive oil 12.35 0.00
24 Olives 2.78 0.00
25 Peanuts 25.00 0.00
26 Peas (tinned) 37.50 0.00
27 Rhubarb (tinned) 0.00 0.00
28 Soya products 0.00 0.00
29 Tomato products 2.08 0.00

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6. % of presence of multiple pesticide residues on all produce tested in the
UK 2011 – 2015

Produce % of samples with multiple residues

1 Oranges 100.00
2 Soft citrus 95.37
3 Lemons and limes 92.59
4 Strawberries 87.5
5 Pears 86.45
6 Oats 83.08
7 Grapes 75.73
8 Oranges (Seville) 74.34
9 Herbs 71.58
10 Wheat 65.71
11 Apples 65.29
12 Cherries 63.54
13 Raisins, currants, sultanas 63.27
14 Peaches and nectarines 62.5
15 Pineapple 62.04
16 Apricots 61.11
17 Banana 58.86
18 Prepacked salad leaves 58.08
19 Spring greens & kale 52.22
20 Pre-prepared salad leaves 52.11
21 Grapes (dried) 52.08
22 Pesto 43.48
23 Beans (tinned) 41.67
24 Cucumber 40.21
25 Berries 39.58
26 Raspberries 35.44
27 Spinach 34.34
28 Celery 34.17
29 Cereal bars 33.33
30 Tomatoes 32.29
31 Crisps 31.93
32 Rice 31.88
33 Chilli peppers 31.25
34 Beans with pods 30.67
35 Speciality fruit 30.32
36 Lettuce 29.34
37 Peas with pods 29.17
38 Spices 29.09
39 Garlic 28.89
40 Mango 27.08
41 Prepared fresh fruit 27.08

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42 Melon 26.67
43 Plums 26.04
44 Parsnips 25
45 Peppers 24.57
46 Carrots 23.44
47 Aubergine 22.4
48 Herbal infusions and tea 22.22
49 Plantain 20.83
50 Okra 20.65
51 Bread 20.36
52 Flour (wheat) 20.14
53 Cherries (tinned) 19.44
54 Speciality beans (dried) 19.15
55 Wine 18.18
56 Brussels sprouts 16.67
57 Courgette 16.67
58 Crackers 16.67
59 Apple puree 16.33
60 Speciality vegetables 14.62
61 Potatoes 14.47
62 Kiwi fruit 13.89
63 Curry leaves 13.64
64 Cabbage 12.5
65 Ginger 12.5
66 Bean Sprouts 10.42
67 Broccoli 9.52
68 Broad beans 8.33
69 Pumpkin and squash 8.33
70 Chicken (processed) 8.33
71 Strawberries (tinned) 8.33
72 Smoked fish 7.87
73 Orange juice 6.43
74 Leeks 6.25
75 Sweet potato 5.56
76 Noodles 5.56
77 Peas without pods 5.21
78 Avocado 4.44
79 Tea 4.44
80 Cheese (hard) 4.17
81 Radish 3.7
82 Oranges, mandarins (tinned) 3.33
83 Pork (processed products) 2.78
84 Lentils 2.38
85 Asparagus 2.08
86 Butter 2.01
87 Pulses 1.85
88 Cheese 1.85

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89 Spring onions 1.39
90 Rice cakes 1.39
91 Lamb 1.11
92 Peas 1.04
93 Fruit juice (other) 1.04
94 Fish (fresh water) 0.92
95 Oily fish 0.92
96 Beetroot 0
96 Cauliflower 0
96 Corn (on the cob) 0
96 Figs 0
96 Mushrooms 0
96 Onions 0
96 Rhubarb 0
96 Swede 0
96 Turnip 0
96 Bread (gluten free) 0
96 Bread (part bake) 0
96 Beef 0
96 Burgers 0
96 Crème fraiche 0
96 Eggs 0
96 Honey 0
96 Liver 0
96 Milk 0
96 Minced meat 0
96 Pork 0
96 Poultry meat 0
96 Prawns 0
96 Shellfish 0
96 Venison 0
96 White fish 0
96 Yoghurt 0
96 Apple juice 0
96 Beer 0
96 Chocolate 0
96 Coffee 0
96 Edible seeds 0
96 Nuts 0
96 Olive oil 0
96 Olives 0
96 Peanuts 0
96 Peas (tinned) 0
96 Rhubarb (tinned) 0
96 Soya products 0

96 Tomato products 0

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