All foods/Sweet peppers

2024 · Germany · EFSA consolidated official controls · Calendar year

Pesticide residues found on sweet peppers

83.9% of standard-grown samples had at least one detected residue. Standard-grown means samples not identified as organic (called conventional in the source data). Detection does not, by itself, mean the food was unsafe.

Compare with other foods →
Any residue83.9%Higher organic-buying priority

31 samples, standard-grown

No quantified residue16.1%Higher organic-buying priority

All reported results below quantification

Multiple residues74.2%Higher organic-buying priority

Two or more residues detected

Median residue count3Higher organic-buying priority

Highest observed count: 8

Above published limit3.2%Higher organic-buying priority

Based on the reported compliance evaluation

Organic: any residue33.3%Higher organic-buying priority

6 samples, interpret cautiously

Residue detail

What was found on sweet peppers?

The most frequently detected residues across all 37 samples. This is the complete available table for this monitoring entry.

37samples checked

Detection does not establish harm. Health risk depends on both toxicity and the amount a person is exposed to.

What do these types mean?
  • FungicideControls fungal diseases such as moulds and mildews.
  • InsecticideControls insects that damage crops or stored food.
  • HerbicideControls weeds competing with a crop.
  • Growth regulatorChanges plant growth, development or ripening.
  • Other / mixedCovers multiple substances or a role that cannot be reliably assigned from the published name.

These labels describe agricultural function, not a toxicity ranking.

ResidueTypeSamplesMedianHigher resultTypical published limit
Copper (RD)Other / mixed10 (27%)0.543 mg/kg0.95 mg/kg5 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Bromide Ion (RD)Other / mixed10 (27%)0.966 mg/kg1.372 mg/kg30 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Azoxystrobin (RD)Other / mixed9 (24.3%)0.035 mg/kg0.059 mg/kg3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Fluopyram (RD)Other / mixed9 (24.3%)0.013 mg/kg0.038 mg/kg0.000 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Difenoconazole (RD)Other / mixed7 (18.9%)0.047 mg/kg0.112 mg/kg0.9 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Cyantraniliprole (RD)Other / mixed5 (13.5%)0.016 mg/kg0.028 mg/kg1.5 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Trifloxystrobin (RD)Other / mixed4 (10.8%)0.037 mg/kg0.1 mg/kg0.4 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Fludioxonil (RD)Other / mixed4 (10.8%)0.015 mg/kg0.016 mg/kg1 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Spirotetramat (RD)Other / mixed4 (10.8%)0.04 mg/kg0.086 mg/kg1 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Chlorantraniliprole (RD)Other / mixed4 (10.8%)0.025 mg/kg0.07 mg/kg1 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Boscalid (RD)Other / mixed3 (8.1%)0.113 mg/kg0.23 mg/kg3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Propamocarb (RD)Other / mixed3 (8.1%)0.033 mg/kg0.076 mg/kg3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Fluxapyroxad (RD)Other / mixed3 (8.1%)0.11 mg/kg0.123 mg/kg0.6 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Pyraclostrobin (RD)Other / mixed2 (5.4%)0.085 mg/kg0.13 mg/kg0.5 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Flonicamid (RD)Other / mixed2 (5.4%)0.065 mg/kg0.104 mg/kg0.3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Hexythiazox (RD)Other / mixed2 (5.4%)0.042 mg/kg0.054 mg/kg0.09 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Metrafenone (RD)Other / mixed2 (5.4%)0.03 mg/kg0.044 mg/kg2 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Bifenazate (RD)Other / mixed2 (5.4%)0.023 mg/kg0.035 mg/kg1.505 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Imidacloprid (RD)Other / mixed1 (2.7%)0.01 mg/kg0.01 mg/kg0.9 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Fosetyl (RD)Other / mixed1 (2.7%)0.063 mg/kg0.063 mg/kg130 mg/kg
Health summary pending

No reviewed substance-specific summary is available, so no health effect is inferred.

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗

“Higher result” is an approximate 95th-percentile observed concentration, not a safety threshold. Amounts of different pesticides should not be added together or compared directly. Functional types describe their usual agricultural role; they are not hazard or toxicity rankings.

ADI and ARfD are intake reference values, not limits for one food sample. A personal assessment would also require consumption, body-weight and wider exposure data. Source programmes report legal Maximum Residue Level results separately.

What this tells you

A monitoring result, not a verdict.

EFSA consolidates official control results reported by national authorities; sampling strategies and food coverage differ between countries. It is not a test of every sweet peppers product sold in Germany. This entry’s latest included calendar year release is from 2024.

Published MRLs or tolerances are regulatory limits associated with pesticide use. Consumer-risk assessment is a separate process.

Moderate sample coverage. 20–49 samples: a useful monitoring snapshot, though not a population estimate.

Compare organic and standard-grown results →

Common questions

How to read these sweet peppers results

Were pesticide residues detected on sweet peppers?

83.9% of 31 standard-grown samples in the 2024 EFSA consolidated official controls dataset had at least one quantified residue.

Does that mean sweet peppers were unsafe?

No. A laboratory detection is not, by itself, a consumer-risk finding. Regulators assess dietary risk separately.

Should I buy organic sweet peppers?

The monitored organic samples had a 33.3% detection rate, compared with 83.9% for standard-grown samples. This is a shopping-priority comparison, not a health-risk score.