The Czech State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI) has ordered retail chain Tesco to withdraw a batch of beans from sale that contained four times the permitted limit of the herbicide haloxyfop. The announcement was made public by SZPI spokesperson Pavel Kopřiva in a press release on Wednesday.
The beans in question were detected to contain high amounts of the said herbicide during SZPI’s regular inspections. Specifically, these were half-kilogram packages of red beans under the Tesco brand, with a minimum durability date until July 6, 2025, and originating from Argentina.
A broad-spectrum analysis conducted in an accredited laboratory confirmed the presence of haloxyfop in the evaluated food sample. “The sample contained 0.57 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of the herbicide. The relevant legal regulation sets the maximum tolerable amount for this substance at 0.15 mg/kg,” Kopřiva explained in the report.
Inspectors commanded the Tesco chain to withdraw the product of this batch from all its stores, with a total of 1344 packages involved. The food inspection authority has initiated administrative proceedings to impose a penalty on the controlled entity.
Kopřiva advised consumers not to consume the product with the mentioned batch. He added, “The food inspection will initiate administrative proceedings to impose a fine on the controlled entity.”