Several Dutch blueberry growers found to have violated pesticide regulations

Dutch blueberry growers repeatedly violated pesticide regulations last year. Of the 20 growers that were visited by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), nine were found to have violated the regulations. "It mainly went wrong with mandatory measures to prevent drift (blowing out),” the authority said on Wednesday. The NVWA fined the growers or issued them a warning for less severe violations.

One of the substances that caused many of the mistakes is called Exirel. Fruit growers are allowed to use this based on a special clearance to combat the Suzuki fruit flies. They are forced to stick to strict regulations when it comes to protecting bees, other insects, and aquatic animals. Four of the nine companies that were caught violating the regulations made their errors using this substance.

The Netherlands has 139 companies that grow fruits. “The inspection results have been shared with the sector, and the risks of low compliance have been discussed.”

Drift can cause crop protection products to end up in nearby waters or on a field nearby, which can be damaged because of the products. There are further restrictions when it comes to the use of Exirel to prevent too much of it from ending up in the groundwater. It is also not allowed to be used on flowering crops as it is dangerous for bees.

The NVWA had also found out in the past that many pesticide regulations were violated by cherry cultivation companies using Exirel and Tracer, a different substance, which is also a risk for the sector. “The future of these substances for our sector is highly insecure and dependent on whether conditions of application are followed,” the Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie, the organization for Dutch fruit growers, warned last year.

It is not the first time this year that blueberries have been in the news for the wrong reasons. In January, dozens of people became ill after eating blueberries from the frozen food section of Albert Heijn. It turned out that a batch from Poland had caused an outbreak of hepatitis A in the Netherlands.