Green Charentais melons grown in Morocco and sold in Leclerc stores are being recalled in several French departments because they contain too many pesticides.
- Green Charentais melons grown in Morocco sold in Leclerc group stores are being recalled due to the “presence of pesticides above the regulatory threshold”.
- If purchased, it is advisable to return the melon to the store for a refund or to have it destroyed.
- The lot concerned is 219245510P9. The melons were sold in the following departments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), Hautes-Alpes (05), Alpes-Maritimes (06), Ardèche (07), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), Drôme (26), Corde-du-Sud (2A), Haute-Corse (2B), Gard (30), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84).
- The lot concerned is lot 219245510P9. The melons were sold in the following departments: Alpes-de-haute-provence (04), Hautes-Alpes (05), Alpes-Maritimes (06), Ardèche (07), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), Drôme (26), Corse-du-Sud (2A), Haute-Corse (2B), Gard (30), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84).
THE dangerous product alert site The government announced on Thursday, May 30, that certain melons sold in Leclerc group stores should not be consumed. The cause? The “presence of pesticides above the regulatory threshold”.
Pesticides: Which melons are affected by the recall?
The subject of the recall concerns a batch of green Charentais melons grown in Morocco and sold between May 14 and 28, 2024 in Leclerc stores in eleven French departments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), Hautes-Alpes (05), Alpes-Maritimes (06), Ardèche (07), Bouches-du-Rhône (13), Drôme (26), Corde-du-Sud (2A), Haute-Corse (2B), Gard (30), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84).
These Terragaia brand melons were displayed in bulk under lot number 219245510P9.
For consumers who still have the products, the government says they should not eat them and return them to the store for a refund or destroy them.
Pesticides in fruit, what are the risks?
The health effects of consuming pesticide residues generally occur in the long term (except in cases of exposure in utero or in early childhood where the faster development of the body makes it more fragile), and also depend on the “cocktail effect” that different types of pesticides can cause. Currently, and globally, pesticides are suspected of being carcinogenic, genotoxic, reprotoxic or endocrine disruptors.
In this specific case, the government does not indicate what types of pesticides are present in these fruits, but it is possible to find pesticides banned in Europe, because the regulations are not the same in this Maghreb country. In April 2024, Spain had already alerted on the presence of residues of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in melons shipped from Morocco. This pesticide – like its brother chlorpyrifos-methyl – is banned in EU since 2019 because it is “Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects and may cause an allergic skin reaction.”. EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) also adds that studies show that there are “human health concerns, particularly regarding possible genotoxicity and developmental neurotoxicity”.
To avoid consuming pesticide residues as much as possible, the best thing is of course to turn to organic farming. But you should know that even these fruits and vegetables can be indirectly contaminated by old pesticides present in the soil or by those carried in the air during spraying in neighboring fields.