More than a tenth of the fruit and vegetables tested at the farmers’ market in Ta’ Qali last year contained excessive chemical pesticides, prompting action by the authorities.
A spokesman for the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority told this newspaper that 133 samples were taken from the Pitkalija last year. Seventeen of them, or 13 per cent, were found to contain excessive and illegal levels of pesticides. A further 19 samples are still being analysed.
The results of last year’s tests, however, appear to indicate that dangerous pesticide use may be on the rise. The results were more than three times the levels reported by this newspaper in 2015.
