07 July 2026, EU: Strawberries are among the most popular fruits in Europe. Europeans’ strawberry consumption is high, and production has increased over the last decade in several countries. Strawberries are considered as healthy fruits for their vitamin C and antioxidant contents. Being particularly consumed by children in sometimes high quantities, it is of major importance to ensure they are free from pesticides, despite intensive production methods.
Considering the lack of transparency of public authorities regarding the level of contamination of specific products, PAN Europe and its national partner NGOs analysed 41 locally-produced strawberry samples in 11 EU countries. The extent of contamination found in conventional strawberries is highly concerning: on average, European strawberries are contaminated with 3.5 different pesticides substances and the most frequently found pesticides are among the most toxic ones approved in the EU: endocrine disruptors, PFAS, and neurotoxic.
Overall, 78% of the strawberry samples from conventional agriculture had residues of at least one pesticide, and 61% had two or more. The maximum number of residues found in a single sample was found in Belgium (9), Hungary and Slovenia (8) and Ireland (7). Only 22% of conventional strawberries and all 5 organic and pesticide-free labelled samples contained no quantifiable residues of pesticides.
A significant proportion of strawberries contained residues of two endocrine-disrupting pesticides, namely fludioxonil (39%) and cyprodinil (33%) that should, according to EU law, have been taken off the market more than one or two years ago, but EU- and Member State authorities refuse to properly implement the law. PFAS pesticides were found in 58% of the samples, while 56% of the tested strawberries contained pesticides from the more harmful category called ‘Candidates for Substitution’, that Member States are supposed to phase out since 2011. Finally, nearly one sample out of 5 (17%) contained neurotoxic pesticides, which is concerning, considering the significant quantities young children can ingest.
The results are highly problematic for several reasons. Firstly, because there is no risk assessment of the toxicity of multiple residues of pesticides in the EU. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been tasked, by law, to produce a method in 2005 but none has been presented up to now. Regulatory authorities therefore have little knowledge of the health impacts of cumulative and synergistic cocktail effects, and no additional safety factor has been set to compensate. In addition, the substances found are among the most toxic approved in the EU. Finally, permitted residue limits are sometimes double or triple those set for apples, even though children are able to consume significant quantities of strawberries, considering their appeal.
A mounting body of scientific evidence shows that chronic exposure to multiple residues of pesticides can lead to chronic diseases such as infertility, so it is unacceptable that EFSA did not provide since 2005 a methodology taking into account multiple exposure.
On a more positive note, cleaner results from France and the Netherlands – with respectively 50% and 66% of samples containing no residue – show that conventional strawberry production methods exist to greatly reduce pesticide use.
The results of this report show a lack of implementation of EU law which leads to citizens’ exposure to very toxic pesticides, usually in the form of cocktails. Contrary to a current proposal from the European Commission for a Food and Feed Safety Omnibus regulation, these results show that a more literal and quicker implementation of the current standards is needed, rather than a weakening of the rules.
This report does not aim to provide a representative overview of the level of contamination of strawberries with pesticides in 11 EU Member States, but rather to raise awareness of the important level of contamination, in particular with cocktails of pesticides, in most Member States. PAN Europe and its partners refer to EU- and Member States’ public authorities to increase transparency into available data on the level of contamination of consumed strawberries, and to support farmers in implementing existing non-chemical pest control, as used in organic farming. We recommend that consumers reduce as far as possible their exposure to pesticides via food, in particular for children and during pregnancy. Our results show that consuming organic strawberries prevents such exposure.
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