There is a one-in-five chance that a packet of coffee beans sold in Europe contains residues of pesticides thought to have been erased during roasting, and in some cases, include banned sprays that cause cancer, according to new research.
There is a “systemic pattern” of pesticides showing up again and again in beans from most major production regions, says Coffee Watch, a United States-based non-profit organisation seeking to reform the global coffee industry.
Coffee Watch partnered with Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK and German development groups Inkota-network and Deutsche Umwelthilfe to compile a report on “the hidden cost of coffee”, warning that “pesticides applied to coffee farms thousands of kilometres away travel to your cup far more often than consumers realise”.
The report, published on June 25 (2026), set out a warning to coffee drinkers that the “standard reassurance” given by companies – that residues are destroyed by roasting – is not always the case.
“Scientific evidence tells a more complicated, less comfortable story,” according to Coffee Watch, which said that some pesticides – those of “high thermal stability” – can bind themselves to a bean and emerge intact after roasting.
“Twenty-one per cent of roasted samples tested positive for pesticide residues,” the researchers warned.
According to PAN Europe, a Brussels-headquartered organisation, the findings point to a “toxic double standard”.
Some of the chemicals in question are not permitted for use on European farms, but are exported by European manufacturers to coffee-growing countries, only to return on polluted coffee beans.
The sprays in question have been linked to an array of health concerns, including cancer, reproductive harm and endocrine disruption, PAN Europe pointed out, explaining that 60% of pesticides used in coffee-growing worldwide are classed as “highly hazardous”.
“Dangerous pesticides are ending up in our cups, even though they have been banned in the EU,” said PAN Europe Science and Policy head Angeliki Lysimachou, who called on the bloc to “act now to end this unethical and unfair double standard”. – dpa
