Freshly Squeezed Juices – Pesticide Contamination?

Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits are often treated with pesticides and waxes before and after harvest. The consumer center Bremen gives tips for the safe handling of this fruit.

The essentials in brief:

• In the case of self-pressed juices, pesticides and waxes can migrate from the skin into the juice.
• However, investigations by food monitoring and Stiftung Warentest do not show any questionable values ​​in pressed juices.
• Before pressing, it is best to wash the fruit with lukewarm water and rub it dry – this allows most of the treatment agents to be removed.

Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits are often treated with pesticides and waxes before and after harvest to protect them from pests and extend their shelf life for long-distance transportation and storage. According to studies, however, only small amounts are transferred to the finished product when these fruits are processed into juice , so that they do not pose a health risk.

Pesticides in freshly squeezed fruit juices

For many, a freshly squeezed orange juice is part of an extensive breakfast. When squeezing the fruit, pesticides could be transferred through the skin or into the juice or directly into the mouth. However , a study by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety showed that the residues in the pressed juice are very low and are well below the maximum permissible values.

Also at markets or in retail you will often find vending machines or stands where juice is freshly squeezed. Based on the results from Bavaria and Stiftung Warentest, however, it can be assumed that freshly squeezed juices do not contain any harmful residues.

Fruit juices: Where can residues come from?

Conventional oranges can be treated with the pesticides biphenyl (E230), orthophenylphenol (E231), sodium orthophenylphenol (E232), imazalil or thiabendazole.

Whether the oranges have been treated with a pesticide after harvesting must be written on the label or on the shelf. In stores, both packaged and loosely processed oranges must be labeled “preserved” or specifically labeled as “preserved with thiabendazole”. The use of waxes must also be made visible by stating “waxed”.

Food monitoring regularly examines citrus fruits, but in recent years has only rarely been able to determine that limit values ​​have been exceeded.

Squeeze orange juice yourself – what to look out for?

1. Before processing oranges and citrus fruits in the household, you should always wash them thoroughly, lukewarm and dry them with a kitchen towel . In this way you can reduce the level of preservatives on the surface and reduce the risk of transfer into the juice many times over.
2. To avoid the risk of pesticide residues, choose oranges that are labeled as “untreated” or labeled “peel fit for consumption”. These fruits are not subjected to any treatment either before or after harvesting. However, this is a voluntary label.
3. Consumers can play it safe when buying organic products – organically grown oranges must not be treated with pesticides or waxes.
4. When purchasing freshly squeezed juice from a retail store or market, check with vendors to determine which oranges were used. Be sure to pay attention to the hygiene of the machine or the press, because freshly squeezed juices are perishable.
5. The household method used to squeeze oranges does not seem to affect the transfer of pesticides to the juice.