Bees are good at calculating (photo illustration).

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Traces of neonicotinoid residues, these controversial "bee-killer" insecticides that the government wants to reintroduce temporarily, were found on more than 10% of samples of food of plant origin checked in 2017, denounced the NGO. Future generations, this Friday.

The NGO, specializing in the fight against the use of chemicals in agriculture, studied the public results of the checks carried out by the General Directorate for the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) on residues (therefore below the authorized standards) of pesticides in foods of plant origin.

China tops the table

Out of 4,598 non-organic samples examined, 491 - or 10.68% - showed traces of neonicotinoids.

And among these, 140 (or 28.5%) contained traces of several of these products.

Mainly concerned, teas of Chinese origin, with 157 samples.

China leads the country of origin with only 157 products, followed by France with 79 samples showing traces of residues (12.2% of the total), the Dominican Republic (48 samples), Spain ( 44) or Chile (26).

In total, products from 32 countries showed traces of residues, two-thirds of which came from countries outside the European Union.

An exemption for beetroot

After banning them in 2018, the government agreed to grant temporary exemptions from next year for the use of neonicotinoids, as in a dozen other European countries, in order to curb "beet yellowing. », Spread by an aphid.

A law to this effect is currently under discussion in the Assembly.

Believing that this study shows that "we are all potentially exposed" to neonicotinoids, some of which are also suspected of being endocrine disruptors, Générations Futures calls on members to reject this text.

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