93% met the standard: the test that surprised the Ministry of Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture's 2025 report found that 93.2% of pesticide residue samples in fruits, vegetables, and spices met the Israeli standard, with 41 crops showing no deviations at all. 45.4% of samples had no residues whatsoever. Deviations were concentrated in fresh spices for export, tested for the first time, raising the overall deviation rate to 6.8%.

The 2025 report on pesticide residues in local agricultural produce, published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, presents a positive picture regarding food safety in Israel. During the year, ministry inspectors sampled about 800 samples of fruits, vegetables, and spices from 68 different crops collected from all regions of the country. The survey findings show that 93.2% of the tested samples met the requirements of the Israeli standard. The most significant success is that in 41 different crops, no deviation was found at all, including central products in the consumption basket such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, onions, lettuce, and potatoes, as well as avocados, mangoes, bananas, dates, and citrus fruits. Additionally, 45.4% of all samples were found to have no pesticide residues at all. Another success was recorded in regional pest control projects, where 96.9% of samples were found to be compliant. Failures and deviations were mainly concentrated in the fresh spice industry intended for export, which was tested for the first time this year, raising the overall deviation rate to 6.8%, while in the regular survey without export spices, the deviation rate stood at only 3.5%. Most deviations do not stem from a dangerous amount of substances but from the use of preparations not officially approved for the specific crop. Over 70% of these cases would not have been considered a deviation under European standards. The ministry is working to expand the list of approved preparations.