A Snapshot of Pesticide Residues in Human, Animal, and Environmental Samples Across 10 European Countries

Intensive pesticide use raises concerns for environmental, human, and animal health, yet Europe-wide data on exposure remain fragmented. In this study, 224 pesticide residues were analysed in environmental and biological samples collected during the 2021 growing season across 10 European sites, covering conventional and organic farms. Samples included human (farmers, neighbours, consumers) and animal (cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, cats) matrices—urine, plasma, faeces, and silicone wristbands—as well as farm feed and environmental matrices including soil, earthworms, crops, water, sediment, outdoor air/dust, and indoor dust. Across all matrices, the top ten rankings based on detection frequency identified 63 priority compounds; 62 were detected in at least two matrices. Notably, non-approved pesticides accounted for 10–70% of the residues in the top ten across human, animal, and environmental samples. Detection frequencies and concentrations were generally higher in conventional than in organic systems, although differences were smaller than expected. The most frequently detected residues were glyphosate (in 9 of 16 matrices) and the banned persistent DDT metabolite p,p′ DDE (in 11 of 16 matrices). Overall, pesticide residues were widespread, mostly at low levels, across humans, animals, and environments in Europe. A One-Health-based harmonised monitoring and risk assessment approach is needed, including both approved and non-approved compounds.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Environments
Published
2026-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13100545
Primary Topic
Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
article

A Snapshot of Pesticide Residues in Human, Animal, and Environmental Samples Across 10 European Countries

Trine Nørgaard, Daria Sgargi, Jonatan V. Dias, Adrián de la Torre et al.
Environments
Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
article

A Snapshot of Pesticide Residues in Human, Animal, and Environmental Samples Across 10 European Countries

Trine Nørgaard, Daria Sgargi, Jonatan V. Dias, Adrián de la Torre, Igor Pasković, Florian Christ, María de los Ángeles Martínez, Matjaž Glavan, Mathilde Bureau, Abdallah Alaoui, Paul T.J. Scheepers, Lingtong Gai, Vera Silva, Neus González, Anne Vested, Vivi Schlünssen, Isabel Campos, Marija Polić Pasković, Nélson Abrantes, Hans Mol, Francisco Alcón, Irene Navarro, Martin Tang Sørensen, Paula Harkes, Dennis Knuth, Daniele Mandrioli, Josefina Contreras, Rima Osman, Jakub Hofman, Martien Graumans, Violette Geissen, Isabelle Baldi
article en

Abstract

Intensive pesticide use raises concerns for environmental, human, and animal health, yet Europe-wide data on exposure remain fragmented. In this study, 224 pesticide residues were analysed in environmental and biological samples collected during the 2021 growing season across 10 European sites, covering conventional and organic farms. Samples included human (farmers, neighbours, consumers) and animal (cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, cats) matrices—urine, plasma, faeces, and silicone wristbands—as well as farm feed and environmental matrices including soil, earthworms, crops, water, sediment, outdoor air/dust, and indoor dust. Across all matrices, the top ten rankings based on detection frequency identified 63 priority compounds; 62 were detected in at least two matrices. Notably, non-approved pesticides accounted for 10–70% of the residues in the top ten across human, animal, and environmental samples. Detection frequencies and concentrations were generally higher in conventional than in organic systems, although differences were smaller than expected. The most frequently detected residues were glyphosate (in 9 of 16 matrices) and the banned persistent DDT metabolite p,p′ DDE (in 11 of 16 matrices). Overall, pesticide residues were widespread, mostly at low levels, across humans, animals, and environments in Europe. A One-Health-based harmonised monitoring and risk assessment approach is needed, including both approved and non-approved compounds.

EnvironmentsVol. 13(10)
University of Bern (CH), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), Université de Bordeaux (FR), University of Ljubljana (SI), Inserm (FR), Aarhus University (DK), Masaryk University (CZ), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (ES), Danish Ramazzini Center (DK), Istituto Ramazzini (IT), Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (ES), Bordeaux Population Health (FR), Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (NL), Institute of Agriculture and Tourism (HR), Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (ES), Centro de Estudos Ambientais e Marinhos (PT), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES), University of Aveiro (PT), Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.