Our 2024 ranking reveals which UK supermarkets are doing the best and worst on pesticides. To see which supermarkets are making the most effort to reduce pesticide residues in food, visit our webpage on that topic. If you shop at one of the four supermarkets that publish detailed results from their residue testing programmes (Co-op, M&S, Morrisons and Waitrose), you can also visit their company websites for information on which produce contains residues and use that to make informed shopping decisions.
But the truth is that buying organic is the only sure-fire way of avoiding pesticides in your food. However, currently most shoppers are unable to afford or access a fully organic diet. Plus, everyone should be able to access healthy and sustainable food regardless of where they live in the UK or how much they earn. That’s why we are calling for all supermarkets to improve their policies, not only on reducing residues but also on phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides and supporting suppliers to adopt non-chemical alternatives. Ultimately, if supermarkets don’t allow the most toxic pesticides to be used by their suppliers, then these chemicals won’t appear in the food on our plates.
The best thing you can do is write to your supermarket today and let them know that you care about pesticides and want them to change.
