Greenpeace finds pesticides in a quarter of tested cooking spices
A new study by Greenpeace discovered pesticides in more than a quarter of all conventional dried cooking spices sold in Germany, the organisation announced on Thursday in Hamburg.
Paprika, curry powder, and parsley were among the most contaminated of those tested and were labelled “not recommended” by the study. Even the banned pesticide DDT was found in curry.
The highest level of pesticides were found in parsley from grocery store chain Metro’s generic brand Tip, and Greenpeace has filed a criminal complaint against the company.
“With a pinch of paprika or curry that lands on a Currywurst, one sprinkles a poison cocktail of up to 20 different chemicals on the meal,” Greenpeace chemical expert Manfred Straten said.
Meanwhile fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables were found to be less contaminated by chemicals than in previous tests.
Greenpeace encouraged German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner and the European Union Commission to set legal limits for pesticides in dried spices.
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Paprika, curry powder, and parsley were among the most contaminated of those tested and were labelled “not recommended” by the study. Even the banned pesticide DDT was found in curry.
The highest level of pesticides were found in parsley from grocery store chain Metro’s generic brand Tip, and Greenpeace has filed a criminal complaint against the company.
“With a pinch of paprika or curry that lands on a Currywurst, one sprinkles a poison cocktail of up to 20 different chemicals on the meal,” Greenpeace chemical expert Manfred Straten said.
Meanwhile fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables were found to be less contaminated by chemicals than in previous tests.
Greenpeace encouraged German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner and the European Union Commission to set legal limits for pesticides in dried spices.
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