Short version: a new report from not-for-profit charity Pesticide Action Australia, based on independent lab tests and published in early October 2026, found 201 pesticide residues from 54 different pesticides on 78 samples of everyday fruit and veg bought from Aldi, Coles and Woolworths. Four samples breached Australia's residue limits, including a strawberry sample at 9.5 times the legal limit.
It's a small snapshot, not a national survey, and a residue isn't automatically a health risk. Both of those things are explained below. But if you'd rather cut your exposure to synthetic pesticides, there's a simple way to do it: choose certified organic fruit and veg, grown under standards that ban synthetic pesticides.
What was tested
The report comes from Pesticide Action Australia, a not-for-profit charity dedicated to reducing Australia's use of pesticides. In June 2026 it bought 78 samples of 13 kinds of fruit and veg from Aldi, Coles and Woolworths in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, and sent them to an independent NATA-accredited laboratory. All of it was Australian-grown.
Nothing exotic, either. The list reads like a weekly shop: apples, avocados, bananas, blueberries, broccoli, capsicum, cucumber, grapes, lettuce, potatoes, rockmelon, strawberries and tomatoes.
What they found
| Finding | Result |
|---|---|
| Pesticide residues detected | 201, from 54 different pesticides |
| Samples with a pesticide not approved for use in the EU | 56% |
| Samples with a pesticide the report classes as PFAS, or a “forever chemical” | 44% |
| Samples with neonicotinoid insecticides | 14% |
| Samples that breached Australian residue limits | 4 (2 over a set limit, 2 with no APVMA limit set for that crop) |
| Residues the report says could point to unauthorised use | 8, awaiting confirmation |
Figures from Pesticide Action Australia's report, as reported by FreshPlaza and Inside Retail.
A strawberry sample at 9.5 times the limit
According to the report, these were the four samples that breached residue limits. Two were over a set limit, and two carried chemicals that have no APVMA residue limit set for that crop:
- One strawberry sample with the fungicide bupirimate at 9.5 times the limit.
- One grape sample with the insecticide bifenthrin at 5.5 times the limit.
- Two capsicum samples, one carrying fipronil and one carrying permethrin. For both insecticides, the report says it could find no APVMA residue limit, label or permit covering their use on capsicum.
The tests also picked up five different organophosphates, an older class of insecticide. The report notes that one of them, dimethoate, is banned in the UK and EU.
What the report doesn't prove
A headline like this one deserves the fine print, so here it is.
- It's a snapshot. Seventy-eight samples can't describe every piece of fruit sold in Australia. The report says so itself: its percentages are not national averages.
- A residue limit isn't a safety line. As Inside Retail reports, Australia's pesticide regulator, the APVMA, stresses that a maximum residue limit is a compliance tool rather than a health or safety threshold. So a sample over the limit doesn't, by itself, mean the food would make you sick.
- The results don't show how residues got there. As Inside Retail notes, the findings on their own don't explain how the residues came to be there or establish that any unlawful use occurred.
- "Possible unauthorised use" isn't proven. The eight flagged residues are the report's reading of APVMA registration and permit records, and Pesticide Action Australia is asking authorities to confirm them.
The supermarkets and the regulator had their say too:
- Coles told Inside Retail: "Coles regularly tests a range of fresh produce for pesticide residues throughout the year, as we have done for decades."
- Woolworths said, as reported by FreshPlaza, that its primary suppliers and growers are independently audited under the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme, which includes residue testing, and that it carries out risk-based testing and farm inspections.
- Aldi said, as reported by Inside Retail, that its suppliers must meet recognised food-safety standards and undergo regular testing, supplemented by its own risk-based surveillance.
- The APVMA said, as reported by FreshPlaza, that suspected breaches should be reported to the relevant state or territory authority, which checks whether approved use patterns were followed and takes action where they weren't.
Why it keeps coming up: very little is published
Pesticide Action Australia's real complaint isn't one punnet of strawberries. It's how little residue testing of fresh produce gets published here. The group points out that the last agricultural chemicals study in the government's Australian Total Diet Study was published in 2019, using food bought in 2013 and 2014. It wants regular testing with the results made public, as the UK does.
Until that happens, reports like this one are one of the few public windows shoppers get.
Why all our fresh fruit and veg is certified organic
Australia's National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce is blunt: "The use of pesticides produced from synthetic chemicals is prohibited." There's a narrow allowance for fruit fly baits required by regulation, and only if they're fully enclosed in traps. The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel puts it just as plainly: organic farmers and food producers grow food "without using synthetic chemicals such as pesticides and artificial fertilisers". Every chemical named in this article is synthetic.
That doesn't make organic food chemical-free, and we're not going to pretend it does. Organic standards allow a short list of approved inputs, including some naturally occurring pesticides, and Better Health notes that organic food is "not necessarily completely chemical free". It also says the pesticide residues will be "considerably lower" than in produce grown with synthetic chemicals.
What changes when you switch
An Australian study put a number on it. Researchers had 13 adults eat a diet of at least 80% organic food for one week and a diet of at least 80% conventional food for another. During the organic week, the breakdown products of organophosphate pesticides in their urine were 89% lower (Oates et al., Environmental Research, 2014).
It was a small study. But organophosphates are exactly the kind of chemical these new tests turned up.
Read the mark, not the word
One catch worth knowing: there's no mandatory standard behind the word "organic" on food sold in Australia. The ACCC says there is a voluntary domestic standard, AS 6000, and that businesses don't have to meet it to sell something as organic. Any organic claim still has to be provable, and misleading claims are against the law, but a mandatory national standard applies only to organic exports.
The federal government said in April 2026 that it would explore domestic regulation, but as of October 2026 the ACCC still describes the domestic standard as voluntary. So look for a certification mark, like the Australian Certified Organic bud, with an operator number. That's the claim someone actually audits.
The same kinds of fruit and veg, certified organic
All the fresh fruit and veg we sell at Leichhardt and Crows Nest is certified organic and Australian-grown. The certification sits with our growers, each certified by ACO or another Australian certifying body, and we're happy to show you a certificate if you ask.
Of the 13 items in the report, these are the ones you'll find on our shelves. Our produce wasn't part of the testing; this is simply where to find the certified organic version. What's in stock changes with the season.
| Item in the report | Our certified organic version |
|---|---|
| Strawberries |  Organic Strawberries Punnet 250g |
| Blueberries |  Organic Blueberry Punnet |
| Apples |  Organic Apple Pink Lady |
| Capsicum |  Organic Red Capsicum |
| Cucumber |  Certified Organic Cucumber Lebanese |
| Tomatoes |  Organic Gourmet Tomato |
| Avocados |  Organic Avocado Hass Each |
| Bananas |  Organic Banana Cavendish |
| Lettuce |  Certified Organic Lettuce Cos Each |
| Potatoes |  Organic Sebago Potato Loose |
| Rockmelon |  Organic Rockmelon Whole Each |
See everything that's in this week across fresh produce, or come and have a look at Leichhardt or Crows Nest. Home delivery runs from our Leichhardt store, with next-day delivery in our refrigerated van.
And whatever you buy, don't let a report like this put you off fruit and veg. The point isn't to eat less of it. It's to choose how it was grown.
Frequently asked questions
What did the 2026 pesticide residue report find?
Pesticide Action Australia had 78 samples of 13 kinds of Australian-grown fruit and veg, bought from Aldi, Coles and Woolworths in June 2026, tested at a NATA-accredited laboratory. It found 201 residues from 54 different pesticides. Four samples breached Australian residue limits, including a strawberry sample at 9.5 times the legal limit.
Does this mean supermarket fruit and veg is unsafe?
Not on its own. The APVMA describes a maximum residue limit as a compliance tool rather than a health or safety threshold, and the report is a snapshot of 78 samples, not a national average. What it does show is that pesticide residues were common in these samples, and that four samples breached residue limits.
Is certified organic produce pesticide-free?
No. Australia's national organic standard prohibits pesticides made from synthetic chemicals, with a narrow allowance for fruit fly baits, which must be fully enclosed in traps. It also allows a short list of approved inputs, including some naturally occurring pesticides. The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel says organic food is not necessarily completely chemical free, but its pesticide residues are considerably lower.
Is the word “organic” regulated in Australia?
Only partly. There's no mandatory standard for organic food sold within Australia. The ACCC says the domestic standard, AS 6000, is voluntary, and businesses don't have to meet it to call a product organic. But any organic claim must be able to be proved, and misleading organic claims are against the law. A mandatory national standard applies only to organic exports. Look for a certification mark and operator number instead of relying on the word.
Is all the fresh produce at Unique Wholefood certified organic?
Yes. All the fresh fruit and veg we sell is certified organic and Australian-grown. Certification sits with our growers, who are certified by ACO or another Australian certifying body, and we can show you the certificate on request.
Related reading
- Certified Organic Produce in Australia: What the Label Actually Means
- Pesticide Residues and an Organic Diet: What One Study Measured
- Pesticides on Berries in Australia: What You Need to Know and Why Organic Matters
- What Does Certified Organic Really Mean?
Sources
- Pesticide Action Australia, Australia's Residue Report 2026. Sampling, laboratory, findings, limit exceedances and the report's own caveats
- FreshPlaza, Produce testing finds 201 pesticide residues across 78 samples in Australia (October 2026, reporting news.com.au). Headline figures, items tested, and responses from the APVMA and Woolworths
- Inside Retail, Who's afraid of what's on our fruit? (October 2026). That all the produce tested was Australian-grown, the APVMA on maximum residue limits, responses from Coles and Aldi, and the Australian Total Diet Study
- Better Health Channel, Victorian Government, Organic food. What organic farming excludes, and residues in organic food
- Oates L, Cohen M, Braun L, Schembri A, Taskova R. Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet. Environmental Research 2014; 132: 105–111
- National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, Edition 3.8 (hosted on agriculture.gov.au). Clause 1.1.6 on synthetic pesticides, and the fruit fly bait allowance in Appendix C
- ACCC, Organic claims. The voluntary domestic standard and mandatory export standard
- Fruitnet, Industry welcomes government support on organic policy reform. The federal government's response on domestic organic regulation, tabled 23 April 2026
Last reviewed October 2026. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
This article summarises a published report and news coverage of it, for general information only. It isn't medical or health advice. Figures are as reported by the sources listed; Unique Wholefood did not carry out this testing. See our terms of service, privacy policy, refund policy and shipping policy.