Among the worst offenders were grapes and strawberries at 84 and 83 percent respectively. Cherries followed with 81 percent. The share of apples containing multiple pesticide residues has almost doubled in five years, reaching 72 percent in 2022, up from 44 percent in 2018
Almost every peach, grape and strawberry sold in Britain contains a 'cocktail' of pesticides, analysis has found.
The data selects the 'dirty dozen', or the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables found in our shopping carts.
Eighty-five percent of all peach and nectarine samples tested in 2022 contained residues of at least two different pesticides.
Similar figures were observed for grapes (84 percent), strawberries (83 percent) and cherries (81 percent).
As part of a decades-old testing program, the government checks about 3,000 kg of food samples every year for traces of chemicals.
Campaign group Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) then analyzes the annual reports.
Pesticide prevalence in 2022 was the highest since the company began its own assessments in 2018, the report said.
Before 2022, the percentage of all food tested that contained multiple pesticide residues has never exceeded 32.5 percent, but last year it rose to 39 percent.
Likewise, tThe total percentage of fruits and vegetables containing multiple pesticide residues never exceeded 48 percent. But in 2022 this increased to 53 percent.
However, levels of individual pesticides remained largely within legal limits. Levels in beans and spinach were among the worst offenders for levels above the limit.
Nick Mole, Policy Officer at PAN UK said: 'This year's results show that, like our rivers, much of our food is increasingly contaminated with cocktails of pesticides.
“We have no idea what this constant exposure to dozens – or even hundreds – of different chemicals does to our health in the long term.”
In every sample of fruits and vegetables tested in 2022, researchers recorded 134 different pesticide residues.
Half of these were classified as 'very dangerous' by the UN.
In 2022, traces of more than 130 different pesticides were recorded for all products, including 45 linked to cancer. Activists warned that Britons had 'no idea' of the long-term health effects of pesticide exposure
Forty-five of these were linked to cancer, while another 25 contained endocrine disruptors that can disrupt hormone systems, linked to a range of health problems including birth defects and developmental disorders.
Another 14 were shown to contain 'developmental or reproductive toxins'.
Ten others were cholinesterase inhibitors, which can affect the respiratory system and cause confusion, headache and weakness.
Many tested products are imported. For example, the grape samples examined came from thirteen different countries, such as South Africa, Brazil and Spain.
They are sold in major British supermarkets, as well as in smaller stores.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 1,000 different pesticides used worldwide.
They are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect pests and disease carriers such as mosquitoes, ticks, rats and mice. They also allow farmers to protect the quantity and quality of crops.
Pesticide consumption has increased by almost 60 percent since 1990 and will reach 2.66 billion kg (5.86 billion lbs) in 2020.
But the elderly, children and unborn babies are especially sensitive to the harmful effects of pesticides.