Yasmina Kattou // Credits:RICCARDO MILANI / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
In its new issue, the magazine 60 million consumers analyzed 26 references of ready-to-eat salads and they almost all contain pesticides. A study which is worrying when we know that seven out of ten households consume salad kept in bags.
Practical but full of pesticides. In its new issue, the magazine 60 million consumers analyzed 26 references of ready-to-eat salads and 21 contain pesticides. A study which is worrying when we know that seven out of ten households consume bagged salad. Among these insecticides, some are suspected of being carcinogenic, toxic for reproduction or of causing genetic mutations. More worryingly, up to nine different pesticides were found in a single sachet.
“We do not actually know what these mixtures can produce, it can have a cocktail effect which would increase these potentially harmful effects,” warns Patricia Chairopoulos, in charge of this survey for 60 million consumers.
Choose your salad wisely
To avoid exposure to these substances, the investigator offers some advice. “You must choose organic products or products without pesticide residues which are cleaner overall. You must also wash the salad, because this can remove some of the pesticides which are soluble in water. Finally, more broadly, you must buy a bulk to avoid plastic bags”, explains Patricia Chairopoulos. It is also advisable to choose French salads, because our farmers use fewer pesticides than our European neighbors.