The Plant Food Company

07/10/2026

There ought to be proper labelling - just because you can't see them does not mean they are not there.

Today, [we] have launched the Australian Residue Report 2026. This interactive report takes a closer look at the pesticides on our food, specifically on the fresh fruit and vegetables we buy in the supermarket.

We purchased 78 samples of 13 different types of fruit and vegetables from Coles, Woolworths and Aldi stores across five Australian cities. We sent them to an independent NATA-accredited laboratory for testing.

Here's what was found:
201 pesticide residues across the 78 samples, from 54 different pesticides
44% of samples carried at least one PFAS "forever chemical" pesticide
56% of samples carried at least one pesticide not approved in the European Union
4 residues that breached the regulator's own limits
8 residues that indicate unauthorised pesticide use, with urgent confirmation from authorities being sought
This snapshot of pesticides found on supermarket fruit and vegetables shows the impact of a food system that isn’t adequately testing, and isn’t adequately supporting farmers. The result is the overuse and misuse of hazardous pesticides, many of which end up on our plates.

The last national pesticide residue survey conducted by the Australian Government as part of its Australian Total Diet study was on produce bought over a decade ago. Meanwhile, our industry-funded regulator has approved hundreds of new pesticide products every year since.

We are calling on the government and supermarkets to step up. They need to:
test more,
publish what they find, and
support growers to transition to nature-friendly farming practices.
Given the concentration of power our supermarkets hold - they can move from being part of the problem to part of the solution.

Supermarkets overseas have pesticide-reduction policies, they restrict hazardous pesticides in supply chains, monitor and test transparently and support growers to transition to nature-friendly alternatives. It's time Australian supermarkets did this too.

Take action!
Read and share the report with friends and family. The more people who know, the louder the call for transparency and support for our growers.
Be heard: Join our online campaign to demand better from supermarkets and government - it takes 2 minutes.
Donate! Please fund our work and further testing. Each sample costs hundreds of dollars, and we are going to keep doing the job that government and supermarkets should be doing until they step up. We deserve to know what we are eating.
Take care and take action.
Pesticide Action Australia team

Together, we can reduce Australia's use of pesticides

31/07/2026

Supermarket rubbish. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1814QiiSiW/

22/05/2026

The “widely recyclable” plastic Starbucks cups you toss into in-store recycling bins aren’t going where you think they are.

Beyond Plastics said in a report that it tracked 36 Starbucks single-use polypropylene cups by attaching Bluetooth-enabled location trackers to them and putting them in a recycling bin. Not a single one ended up at a recycling facility, the group said. Twenty-five were tracked to landfills or incinerators, and eight more were on their way to one of those. Three others last appeared at a sorting facility. Starbucks criticized the methodology, claiming the use of trackers “can introduce contamination” that causes materials to be rerouted. The only thing the two sides can agree on is that someone’s talking a load of rubbish.

A three-month national investigation by Beyond Plastics found that not a single tracked Starbucks cold-beverage cup ended up at a recycling facility — even when the cups were placed in clearly marked recycling bins inside Starbucks stores.

07/05/2026

This is alarming. I don't buy 100% organic - often for cost reasons. At a minimum all 'conventionally' grow fruit and veg (although how spraying food with chemicals and poisons became conventional is by itself a statement on the state of affairs) should be required to label that the food may be contain traces of : etc etc

Study finds 84 per cent of pesticides used in Australian agriculture are banned overseas.

27/04/2026

No mitochondria - no you!

11/04/2026

What amazing photos and very grounding with all the deeply disturbing news from the Middle East. I bet the astronauts are just grateful to be home on Earth.

09/04/2026

Beautiful. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CZQJdqRQS/

05/04/2026

AFSA's opinion poll results are in and the majority of Australians agree: dogs and cats in research deserve to be rehomed after their use!

Any why not?! These animals have so much love to give, and want nothing more than a family of their own. For many, even just a comfy bed is a privilege they have only ever dreamed of.

Right now, NSW is the only place in Australia where legislation exists around the rehoming of research dogs and cats. Tragically, some dogs and cats in Australian research never leave the laboratory—they live and die there—even if young and otherwise healthy.

It shouldn't be this way. Support our 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 campaign, asking for mandatory rehoming of research dogs and cats 👉 https://animalfreescienceadvocacy.org.au/right2release/