Banned pesticides found in organic carrots

Some carrots labelled as organic contain more pesticides than non-organic ones, a France 3 investigation has found.

The broadcaster sent carrots - chosen as it is a vegetable that tends to retain pesticides - bought from eight stores for testing. The produce selected was evenly split along bio / non-bio lines.

No trace of pesticides were found in conventional carrots bought from well-known stores Leader Price or Carrefour. Lidl and Primeur du Quartier carrots contained traces well below maximum permitted limits.

Three of the four organic brands - from Carrefour, Naturalia and La Vie Claire - were also free of pesticides, but Bio c'Bon produce bought for the study contained 'residues of three phytosanitary products' that are 'prohibited in the organic culture', the France 3 team discovered.

A Bio c'Bon spokesperson said that all its produce is farmed to strict organic rules: "The evolution of the ecosystem may explain the presence of minute quantities of these products but can not call into question the rigor and the biological process of our producers."

The France 3 report suggested ways in which organic produce can be contaminated with banned pesticides - such as a nearby field belonging to a non-organic producer being sprayed, or the produce being tainted in transport or storage.

"This is not necessarily known to the general public, but there are a few plant protection products allowed in organic farming," said the government's food safety organisation Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation (Anses).

But consumer watchdog UFC-Que Choisir said that, "ethically, [the findings of the France 3 investigation] is not good news," despite the fact that, in all cases, levels of pesticides were too low to affect health.