High levels of pesticides detected on Chinese persimmons and jujubes

Photo credit: Andrea Castelli Photo credit: Andrea Castelli

A recent study published in Science of the Total Environment found that pesticide contamination in persimmons and jujubes grown in China was high. Fruit samples were tested for organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides and fungicides. Researchers found that over 35% of persimmon samples and over 70% of jujube samples were contaminated with pesticides. Furthermore, 4.5% of persimmon samples and 25% of jujube samples exceeded the maximum pesticide residue limit for China.