{"id":46638,"date":"2023-04-20T09:31:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T07:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/?p=46638"},"modified":"2023-05-19T10:40:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T08:40:35","slug":"eu-mercosur-banned-pesticides-found-on-brazilian-limes-in-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/46638\/eu-mercosur-banned-pesticides-found-on-brazilian-limes-in-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"EU-Mercosur: Banned pesticides found on Brazilian limes in EU<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brussels<\/strong> \u2013 A Greenpeace Germany study<\/a> 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.\u00a0#<\/p>\n\n

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The pesticides \u2013 among them the herbicide glyphosate, and the insecticides imidacloprid and cypermethrin \u2013 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<\/a> on EU pesticide exports to the Mercosur countries and reduce controls<\/a> on imported foods, meaning both pesticide use and adverse effects are expected to increase<\/a> sharply.<\/p>\n\n

Lis Cunha, Greenpeace Germany trade campaigner, said: <\/strong>\u201cEU chemical giants export to toxic substances to Brazil, some of which aren\u2019t even approved for use within EU borders, and the EU re-imports them as residues on food. The EU-Mercosur deal would put this toxic cycle into overdrive, and cement a neo-colonial, extractivist relationship that favours the EU. The deal perpetuates an economic model that is destroying our planet, so we\u2019re calling on policymakers to bury the EU-Mercosur deal once and for all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Marina Lacorte, Greenpeace Brazil food and agriculture campaigner, said: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cPesticides are already poisoning thousands of people each year in Brazil and killing millions of bees, to name just two of the many consequences. So who stands to benefit from the EU-Mercosur deal? Harmful industries, such as the pesticide industry \u2013 but certainly not the people in Europe or South America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Currently, more than 3,000 commercial pesticide products<\/a> are registered for use in Brazil. As of February 2023, 63 percent of the active ingredients authorised in Brazil<\/a> have no corresponding authorisation in the EU<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n

European trade ministers will meet in Brussels on 25 May to discuss the EU-Mercosur deal.<\/p>\n\n

Key findings of the study <\/strong><\/p>\n\n