Title: A toxic Cocktail: the EU-Mercosur Deal Limes reveal how European Pesticides travel around the World (and back)
A Greenpeace Germany study of Brazilian limes sold in the EU has found residues of several pesticides, some of them banned for use in Europe. An accredited and certified laboratory tested over 50 samples of limes bought in supermarkets and wholesale markets in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden and found pesticide residues in all but one sample. The pesticides – among them the herbicide glyphosate, and the insecticides imidacloprid and cypermethrin – are sold by European companies in Brazil, one of the top pesticide users in the world. The study was conducted in light of the planned trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The proposed EU-Mercosur deal would eliminate tariffs on EU pesticide exports to the Mercosur countries and reduce controls on imported foods, meaning both pesticide use and adverse effects are expected to increase sharply. Currently, more than 3,000 commercial pesticide products are registered for use in Brazil. As of February 2023, 63 percent of the active ingredients authorised in Brazil have no corresponding authorisation in the EU. One-third of the active ingredients found by the study are also found in pesticides sold in Brazil by European companies BASF and Bayer. These companies stand to benefit from the trade deal, which would eliminate tariffs on more than 90 percent of the EU’s chemical exports, including pesticides. Access the report here
