Fruit and vegetables in Dutch supermarkets contain too much pesticide, but Dutch grown produce is much less contaminated than that from other countries, according to a report by the food safety authority VWA, quoted in Tuesday’s AD.

The VWA made spot checks in seven supermarket chains and found fruit and vegetables in all of them which exceeded the legal limit on pesticides.
For example, the survey found that peppers, lettuce and tomatoes, mainly from Spain, contain four to nine times more pesticide than home-grown produce. Of the 33 samples of Dutch produce taken, only one was over the limit.
The legal limit for pesticides in fruit and vegetables varies from country to country, with the UK and Germany having the toughest standards, the paper says.
Research published on Tuesday by the environmental lobby Milieudefensie says supermarket groups Spar and C1000 have the most contaminated food.
But the food retail group CBL says there is absolutely no danger to health. The Dutch standards are extremely tough and it would be misleading to say consumers were in any danger, the CBL’s Marc Jansen told news agency ANP.