Australian consumers are potentially exposed to harmful levels of pesticide dimethoate when consuming berries, according to new information gathered by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). In response, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has proposed to suspend the product registration and label approval of dimethoate products for use on blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

Dimethoate is a neurotoxic pesticide that may be harmful to humans at certain levels. It was banned by the EU in 2019 and is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a “possible human carcinogen.”

The approvals for dimethoate were last reconsidered in 2017, at which time, the most recent berry consumption data that was available had been collected in 1995. Per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), APVMA launched a review into the use of dimethoate on berries after testing by Southern Cross University revealed the presence of the pesticide on blueberries in high levels.

FSANZ gathered data on berry consumption in Australia, and found that current levels of blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry consumption greatly exceeded those reflected in the 30-year-old data used for dimethoate’s 2017 reassessment. Specifically, FSANZ found that Australian berry consumption may have increased by as much as 962 percent between 1995 and 2024.

APVMA used the new consumption data to recalculate dietary exposure estimates for all chemicals approved for use on berries in Australia, which revealed that the use of dimethoate does not leave an adequate margin of safety between the possible level of dimethoate residues and the maximum acceptable level of exposure. Although APVMA says the dimethoate levels detected on berries are “unlikely to pose a serious risk to human health,” the concern is great enough to suspend the use of dimethoate on berries as a precautionary measure.

However, according to ABC, berry testing by Southern Cross University researchers shows that consumers could be exposed to dimethoate levels exceeding acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels after eating just a few blueberries. In the tests, three samples contained dimethoate at levels high enough that a child weighing 20 kilograms (kg) would surpass the ADI after eating approximately 13–20 blueberries. An 80-kg adult would exceed the ADI after eating 50–80 berries. These estimates do not include potential dimethoate exposure from all other food products eaten throughout the day.