Spinach has overtaken bell peppers as the vegetable with the most pesticide residues in the Netherlands, averaging 2.3 different chemicals per sample.
The latest Pesticide Eating Guide from Pesticide Action Network Netherlands analyzed testing data from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority collected between 2023 and 2025.
Bell peppers ranked second among vegetables with 2.3 pesticide types but lower total residue volumes than spinach, while endive rose to third place with an average of 2.2.
Fruits and vegetables with lowest residues
Citrus fruits remained the most contaminated category among fruit with an average of 4.4 pesticide types, followed by strawberries at 4.2 and cherries at 4.0.
The lowest pesticide averages among fruits were found on kiwi at 0.5 types, followed by watermelon and pineapple at 0.9 each.
Among vegetables, asparagus showed zero residues, while red beets averaged 0.1 and pumpkins averaged 0.2 types of pesticides.
Trends in produce contamination
Across all tested produce, the average contamination level remained steady at 1.8 types of pesticides and 0.45 milligrams per kilogram.
A single grape sample contained 20 different pesticides, setting a record for an individual item, but was not recalled because legal limits apply to single substances rather than mixtures.
Statistics Netherlands data showed overall agricultural pesticide use fell by 22% between 2020 and 2024, while use specifically for fruit and vegetable cultivation rose by 26%.
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