"Fake Pesticides Are a Growing Danger"

"LONDON—The illegal trade in counterfeit pesticides has grown into a multimillion-euro industry in Europe, putting consumers' lives and farmers' livelihoods at risk as unregulated and often toxic chemicals enter the food chain.

These untested and frequently substandard products can be hazardous to anyone handling them or to consumers buying contaminated food. Last year, for example, 28 metric tons of counterfeit pesticides destined for Lithuania were seized in Hamburg. Although they were packed alongside labels and measuring cups purporting to be made by three of the world's largest agrochemical makers, Bayer AG, Syngenta AG and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., they actually contained more than 30% of a solvent called Dimethylformamide, which is banned in Europe because it is suspected to cause serious harm to pregnant women.

But despite the potential health threat, and even though it is illegal to import non-EU-approved chemicals into the European Union, a loophole in the bloc's legislation means many pesticide imports don't come under counterfeiting laws and therefore customs can't seize them. And although industry representatives are pushing for revisions to legislation due to be debated in the European Parliament in the coming months, they say little is likely to change anytime soon."

Caroline Henshaw reports for the Wall St. Journal August 23, 2011.