Swiss consumer magazine Saldo analyzed 18 packages of organic and ‘conventional’ pasta — including Italian — for glyphosate and other pesticides, as well as the mycotoxin DON (deoxynivalenol). Only 7 are free of residues. In others, a mix of small amounts of undesirable substances contributes to the daily poisonous cocktail. (1)
Organic, zero residue in pasta
The 5 organic pasta samples turned out to be completely clean. No traces of glyphosate or other pesticides, and excellent results on the DON mycotoxin contamination front as well. (2)
Of these, the only one also available in Italy is Lidl’s Combino package of whole wheat spaghetti (EU-extra-EU wheat origin). The others are Aldi Nature Active pappardelle, Spar Natural whole wheat fusilli, Coop Naturaplan organic penne rigate, and Alnatura organic spelt spaghetti. The last two products remain excellent, albeit with little decline on the DON front.
Barilla among the best
In the top-8–so many ‘clean’ products overall–Barilla appears with two types of pasta: spaghettoni and whole-wheat penne, both ‘conventional’. The origin of the grain is not specified here, so it is assumed that these are batches reserved for export to foreign markets, albeit EU, where the requirement to specify the origin of the grain does not exist. (3)
Barilla’s excellent result, even on the mycotoxin front, bodes well for more careful monitoring, after the less satisfactory outcome that emerged in similar work on whole wheat pasta by Ökotest in September 2020.
Further and final sample of pasta free of residues and contaminants is the ‘conventional’ spelt spirals from Bschüssig.
10 ‘conventional’ pastes with traces of residues
The other 10 ‘conventional’ pastes are all found to be contaminated with small doses of residues. Four products are also potentially available in Italy and open the relevant ranking with ‘sufficient’ rating.
They are, in order of appearance, Lidl Combino noodles, Divella Restaurant 8 spaghetti, Agnesi noodles Garofalo noodles. Again, only in the first sample (Lidl) is the origin of the grain declared: EU-extra-EU.
The other 6 ‘conventional’ and contaminated pastas are not marketed in Italy. (4)
Minimum guaranteed dose
The levels of contamination revealed by Saldo’s analysis are very low. Experts account for pesticide residues detected in concentrations above 0.01 mg/kg, against a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.1 mg/kg.
The sum of residues of the herbicide glyphosate and the insecticide pirimiphos-methyl (toxic to bees and aquatic organisms) in the 4 products (maybe) available in Italy ranges from 0.013 to 0.019 mg/kg. Also excellent, for these 4, was the outcome of the Don mycotoxin search.
360-degree contamination
The test results would be reassuring overall if pasta (and specifically the 18 products tested) were the only source of chemical residues in the diet.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. With the exception of organic, even tea contains glyphosate residues. After all, this molecule (authorized until 12/15/22) was found in the urine of 99.8% of French people. The contamination of Italians, on the other hand, is still unknown.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Gut: Barilla, Bschüssig und Bio. Balance, 29.3.33. https://www.saldo.ch/tests/produktetests/detail/artikeldetail/gut-barilla-bschuessig-und-bio/
(2) Deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin, is a widely used toxin in food and has toxic effects that manifest as nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal disorders and headache, among other things. The maximum daily intake is 1 µg/kg body weight. See previous article https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/micotossine-il-male-invisibile-l-abc
(3) Dario Dongo. Origin of wheat in pasta, Italian decree notified to Brussels. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 2.6.17 https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/micotossine-il-male-invisibile-l-abc
(4) The products are, in order, Coop Prix Garantie spaghetti, Penne Denner, Fusilli Ami, Spar and M-Budget spaghetti, and M-Classic penne.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
