All foods/Processed peppers

2021 · United Kingdom · UK Pesticide Residues in Food monitoring · Annual

Pesticide residues found on processed peppers

50% 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.

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Any residue50%Moderate organic-buying priority

24 samples, standard-grown

No quantified residue50%Moderate organic-buying priority

All reported results below quantification

Multiple residues37.5%Moderate organic-buying priority

Two or more residues detected

Median residue count0.5Moderate organic-buying priority

Highest observed count: 9

Above published limit8.3%Higher organic-buying priority

Parser-based MRL comparison

Organic comparisonNot availableNot enough published data

Withheld: only 0 samples

Residue detail

What was found on processed peppers?

The most frequently detected residues across all 24 samples. This is the complete available table for this monitoring entry.

24samples 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
chlorateOther / mixed4 (16.7%)0.015 mg/kg0.03 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 ↗
boscalidFungicide4 (16.7%)0.035 mg/kg0.04 mg/kg3 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
pyrimethanilFungicide3 (12.5%)0.1 mg/kg0.2 mg/kg2 mg/kg
Reviewed evidence

What regulators assessed: The long-term reference value was based on liver and thyroid changes observed in animal studies at higher doses.

Reference values
Role
Fungicide
Long-term reference (ADI)
0–0.2 mg/kg body weight per day
Single-day reference (ARfD)
Not considered necessary by JMPR

Reviewed from WHO/FAO JMPR, 2007

indoxacarbOther / mixed3 (12.5%)0.02 mg/kg0.04 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 ↗
lufenuronOther / mixed2 (8.3%)0.035 mg/kg0.05 mg/kg0.8 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
cyromazineOther / mixed2 (8.3%)0.015 mg/kg0.02 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 ↗
cyfluthrin (sum)Other / mixed1 (4.2%)0.01 mg/kg0.01 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 ↗
famoxadoneOther / mixed1 (4.2%)0.02 mg/kg0.02 mg/kg0.01 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
flonicamid (sum)Insecticide1 (4.2%)0.01 mg/kg0.01 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 ↗
ethephonGrowth regulator1 (4.2%)0.06 mg/kg0.06 mg/kg0.05 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
chlorpyrifosOther / mixed1 (4.2%)0.003 mg/kg0.003 mg/kg0.01 mg/kg
Health summary pending

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

Search WHO/FAO JMPR ↗
permethrin (sum)Other / mixed1 (4.2%)0.01 mg/kg0.01 mg/kg0.05 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.

The UK programme is risk-based and targets foods where residues may be expected. It is not a test of every processed peppers product sold in United Kingdom. This entry’s latest included annual release is from 2021.

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 processed peppers results

Were pesticide residues detected on processed peppers?

50% of 24 standard-grown samples in the 2021 UK Pesticide Residues in Food monitoring dataset had at least one quantified residue.

Does that mean processed peppers were unsafe?

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

Should I buy organic processed peppers?

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