Pesticide residues by product and origin

How often official samples of a product from a given country break the EU maximum residue level, from 78,447 EFSA sample records (2020–2024) and 34,893 UK supermarket samples. Border checks, random market samples and risk-based samples are kept apart, because they answer different questions.

EU border checks, 2024

Products under increased checks by Reg. (EU) 2019/1793, at least 30 checks in 2024, highest share over the limit first.

Product	Origin	Checks	Over the limit	Frequency in force
Chili peppers	Vietnam	69	19%	50%
Cumin seed	India	122	14%	20%
Chili peppers	Kenya	83	11%	20%
Basil	Israel	77	9.1%	10%
Teas leaves, dry and/or fermented, and similar	China	135	8.1%	20%
Chili peppers	Uganda	157	7.6%	50%
French beans (with pods)	Kenya	724	6.4%	10%
Passionfruits	Colombia	203	5.9%	10%
Beans (with pods) and similar	Kenya	86	5.8%	10%
Rice grain	Pakistan	495	5.3%	5% → 10%
Peanuts	Brazil	146	4.8%	30%
Non-fermented tea leaves (green or white tea)	China	126	4.8%	20%
Okra	India	53	3.8%	20% → 30%
Pitayas	Vietnam	305	3.6%	20% → 30%
Rice grain	India	477	3.6%	10%
Granadillas	Colombia	36	2.8%	10%
Peanuts	Egypt	37	2.7%	20%
Chili peppers	India	40	2.5%	20% → 30%
Paprika powder	India	46	2.2%	20%
Oranges	Egypt	2284	1.0%	30% → 50% → 30%
Peppercorn (black, green and white)	India	42	0%	20%
Sesame seeds	India	93	0%	50% → 30%
St. John´s Wort infusion leaves	India	129	0%	50%
Turmeric roots	India	111	0%	20%

Random market samples, imports

Non-EU origins with at least 30 random samples, pooled over 2020–2024 and all reporting countries on file.

Product	Origin	Samples	Over the limit	95% interval
Passionfruits	Vietnam	83	33%	23%–43%
Ginger roots	China	48	10%	4.5%–22%
Sweet peppers	Morocco	128	8.6%	4.9%–15%
Melons	Morocco	47	8.5%	3.4%–20%
Shaddocks	China	37	8.1%	2.8%–21%
Passionfruits	Colombia	99	7.1%	3.5%–14%
French beans (with pods)	Kenya	46	6.5%	2.2%–18%
Yams	Guadeloupe	32	6.2%	1.7%–20%
Rice grain	India	34	5.9%	1.6%–19%
Limes	Brazil	89	5.6%	2.4%–12%
Sweet potatoes	Egypt	116	5.2%	2.4%–11%
Oranges, sweet	South Africa	40	5.0%	1.4%–17%
Pitayas	Vietnam	62	4.8%	1.7%–13%
Oranges	Egypt	66	4.5%	1.6%–13%
Grapefruits	South Africa	133	4.5%	2.1%–9.5%

Browse

335 product × origin pages by origin, by product, by substance, and UK supermarket samples by retailer. Read how every sample is classified before quoting a number.