Råd & Rön finds prohibited pesticides in Ica's organic grapes

Grapes are often highlighted as a good snack option. But how sprayed are the grapes really – and is organic really a safe choice?

No, not according to Råd & Rön's new test. In total, 21 different pesticides were found in six grape varieties from Italy, Spain and Greece.

Most notably, metaflumizone – a substance that cannot be used in organic farming – was found in Ica's organic grapes from the Ica I love eco brand.

The levels were also so high that they would have exceeded the permitted limit even if the grapes had been conventionally grown. Metaflumizone was also banned for use within the EU last year, although stocks already purchased may be used until the summer.

According to Råd & Rön, Ica does not want to comment on the find, but quality manager Lisa Olsen writes that the company takes the discovery seriously and that it has been in contact with the supplier.

Metaflumizone, which was found in the grapes from Ica I love eco, is an insecticide that counts as a PFAS substance.

After Råd & Rön found PFAS in Ica's tomatoes on a previous occasion, they received a response from Ica, which joined the environmental organization Chemsec's demand for a ban on PFAS, that "Ica has alternatives in the range where PFAS-based pesticides are not allowed. In organic products, no chemical pesticide residues must occur.".

Råd & Röd now state that this is not true in practice.

The test included only one organic alternative: Ica's grapes. The five other varieties came from conventional cultivations, and even there Råd & Rön found pesticide residues in their lab tests.

The pesticides found were against fungus, mold, insects and mites. Dole's red coreless had the most different residues and the second highest levels. The highest content, four times as high, was found in Coop's red seedless.

Ica's conventionally grown grapes were the only ones in the test without PFAS. However, they contained residues of another pesticide that is no longer permitted in the EU. In an email to Råd & Rön, ICA writes that the substance has been temporarily approved in Greece, where the grapes are grown.

Dole's grapes also contained residues of the same substance, as well as excessive levels of lambda-cyhalothrin, a synthetic insecticide. In a comment to Råd & Rön, the company writes that the result is worrying.

One reason why PFAS in plant protection products is controversial is that it can be broken down into trifluoroacetic acid, TFA. The EU has recently determined that TFA affects reproduction, and this summer the limits on how much is considered safe to ingest over time were tightened.

But the development is going in the wrong direction. A new report from Austria shows that the TFA levels in the groundwater there have doubled on average in five years. Even in Råd & Rön's grape test, the spread is visible. TFA was found in all varieties except Ica I love eco, with the highest levels in Coop's red seedless.

The levels in the grapes tested by Råd & Rön are far below the approved EU level. However, since we ingest TFA from many different sources, it is the cumulative exposure that matters. In the grapes tested, the TFA levels were approximately three to 30 times higher than in the Austrian groundwater.