All foods/Tomatoes

2024 · Spain · EFSA consolidated official controls · Calendar year

Pesticide residues found on tomatoes

40% 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 residue40%Moderate organic-buying priority

5 samples, standard-grown

No quantified residue60%Moderate organic-buying priority

All reported results below quantification

Multiple residues20%Higher organic-buying priority

Two or more residues detected

Median residue count0Lower organic-buying priority

Highest observed count: 2

Above published limit0%Moderate organic-buying priority

Based on the reported compliance evaluation

Organic comparisonNot availableNot enough published data

Withheld: only 0 samples

Residue detail

What was found on tomatoes?

The most frequently detected residues across all 5 samples. This is the complete available table for this monitoring entry.

5samples 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
Fluopyram (RD)Other / mixed1 (20%)0.019 mg/kg0.019 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 ↗
Boscalid (RD)Other / mixed1 (20%)0.013 mg/kg0.013 mg/kg3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
Acetamiprid (RD)Other / mixed1 (20%)0.034 mg/kg0.034 mg/kg0.2 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 tomatoes product sold in Spain. 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.

Limited sample coverage. Fewer than 20 samples: useful as a monitoring snapshot, but sensitive to individual results.

Compare organic and standard-grown results →

Common questions

How to read these tomatoes results

Were pesticide residues detected on tomatoes?

40% of 5 standard-grown samples in the 2024 EFSA consolidated official controls dataset had at least one quantified residue.

Does that mean tomatoes were unsafe?

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

Should I buy organic tomatoes?

There were only 0 organic samples, so Residue Lens withholds the comparison.