{"id":816671,"date":"2026-10-28T16:50:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T16:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816671\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T16:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T16:50:20","slug":"hold-the-lime-could-eating-citrus-zest-and-peel-really-be-bad-for-your-health-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816671\/","title":{"rendered":"Hold the lime! Could eating citrus zest and peel really be bad for your health? | Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you sprinkle citrus zest on to your cooking or drink hot water with a slice of lemon? According to an Instagram post<\/a> that went viral last week, you shouldn\u2019t. \u201cSelect citrus fruits at Lidl now come with a \u2018Peel unfit for consumption\u2019 warning,\u201d posts @wholefoodwarrior. She photographs some of the supermarket\u2019s labels, which list the post-harvest chemicals used to conserve the fruit: azoxystrobin and fludioxonil (limes) and imazalil, 2-phenylphenol, thiabendazole, pyrimethanil and fludioxonil (easy peelers), plus E903 in the peel\u2019s wax coating (both).<\/p>\n

The 10,500 comments on the post are largely appalled. So what are these substances? And how worried should consumers be?<\/p>\n

Sarah Compson, the head of policy and campaigns at the charity Pesticide Action Network UK<\/a> (Pan UK), says that many of them are fungicides and known or suspected carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. For example, \u201cImazalil is a post-harvest fungicide used extensively on citrus fruit during storage and transportation,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is a suspected carcinogen and reproductive and developmental toxin. It mostly appears on the skin of citrus fruit, so can be consumed if the zest is used.\u201d Nick Mole, a policy manager at Pan UK, adds that the EU considered a reduction<\/a> in the maximum residue level for imazalil in 2018, but citrus got a reprieve and changes made in 2019<\/a> applied only to bananas, apples and pears.<\/p>\n

Grapefruit tops Pesticide Action Network UK\u2019s list of produce high in multiple pesticide residues. Photograph: DayDreamNative\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

So while the warning labels may be new, the use of these pesticides certainly isn\u2019t. \u201cCitrus fruit regularly tops our \u2018Dirty Dozen<\/a>\u2019 list of produce found to be high in multiple pesticide residues,\u201d says Compson. \u201cThis can include highly hazardous pesticides banned from use in the UK and Europe due to their toxic impact on people and the environment.\u201d This year, grapefruit topped the list, with limes in third place. Over the past five years, soft citrus, oranges and lemons have always featured in the top seven.<\/p>\n

Supermarkets are advised, but not legally obliged, to declare the chemicals used in the production and preservation of fruit and vegetables, says Compson. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see a supermarket being clear about it. Labelling of the chemicals on citrus at least allows consumers to make more informed choices, but they shouldn\u2019t be exposed to these chemicals in the first place.\u201d Pan UK surveys British supermarkets every two years and ranks them on their efforts to tackle pesticides. In the latest rankings<\/a>, in 2024, Waitrose and M&S were \u201cleading the way\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, when the Guardian contacted Lidl<\/a> for comment, it emerged that the labels were not a bid for greater transparency, but were apparently added in error. \u201cWe can assure our customers that these products have not changed and continue to fully comply with all UK safety standards,\u201d said a spokesperson. \u201cWe are working with our supplier to have the packaging label updated to avoid confusion.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While all the chemicals (accidentally) listed are classed as safe to use individually at certain levels, it is the \u201ccocktail effect\u201d that most concerns campaigners. \u201cSafety testing isn\u2019t carried out on real-life dietary exposure,\u201d says Compson. As Lidl\u2019s labels revealed, \u201cPeople are exposed to more than one pesticide at a time. The regulations don\u2019t do enough to protect public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t we just give our oranges and lemons a good scrub when we get them home? \u201cNo, sadly not,\u201d says Compson. \u201cThe pesticides are present in cells throughout the produce. They are designed to stick to the fruit. It\u2019s not just a case of washing it off.\u201d How about buying unwaxed fruit? \u201cI don\u2019t think it makes enough of a difference,\u201d says Compson.<\/p>\n

The only way to cut out these chemicals altogether is to grow your own citrus \u2013 easier said than done in the UK \u2013 or to buy organic. \u201cWe all love a lemon drizzle cake or sticking lime in a gin and tonic,\u201d says Sarah Hathaway, the head of technical at the Soil Assocation. \u201cFor people wanting to avoid these chemicals, they are not allowed in organic farming at all, either in production or post-harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is likely to mean paying more for your limes. If you would rather take the risk of pesticide exposure \u2013 most of us, of course, aren\u2019t eating a huge amount of citrus zest \u2013 consider the farmers growing the fruit, who often don\u2019t have the luxury of choice. A report last month<\/a> found that 46% of farmers worldwide are being poisoned by pesticides every year.<\/p>\n