Tropical Fruits in Distribution Meet Residual Pesticide Standards

The Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health and Environment conducted residual pesticide tests on 129 samples across 10 tropical fruit varieties distributed throughout July at large and small-scale supermarkets and online retailers, with all samples found to meet residual pesticide tolerance standards.

Collected items included △bananas (26 samples) △kiwis (26 samples) △mangoes (20 samples) △avocados (17 samples) △pineapples (12 samples) △dragon fruits (9 samples) △mangosteens (6 samples) △papayas (5 samples) △coconuts (4 samples) △passion fruits (4 samples), totaling 10 varieties and 129 samples. Products originated from imported tropical fruits (118 samples) from various countries including the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Peru, as well as domestic produce (11 samples).

Testing results for 475 types of residual pesticides revealed that residual pesticides such as carbendazim and thiabendazole were detected in some samples; however, all were confirmed to be at safe levels within domestic residual pesticide tolerance standards.

Do Young-suk, head of the Agricultural and Marine Products Inspection Division at the Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health and Environment, said, "With recent increases in tropical fruit consumption and climate change, subtropical fruit cultivation is expanding domestically as well." He added, "We will continuously strengthen residual pesticide safety management for both imported and domestic tropical fruits to create a food environment where residents can consume with confidence."