Schoolchildren are being exposed to pesticides through fruit and vegetables handed out in a government scheme, it has been claimed.

All pupils aged between 4 and 6 are given fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy-eating scheme which started in 2004 with £42 million of lottery money.

But a new report says that fruit and vegetables given to children were found to contain residues of 123 different pesticides, including 62 insecticides, 50 fungicides, and five herbicides.

The levels of residue were low and the Department for Health said there was no risk to children.

Pesticide Action Network UK, which campaigns to eliminate hazardous chemicals, said that the cost of ending what it calls exposure to a “cocktail” of chemicals would be around 1p a child per day across the scheme, which currently costs around £40 million a year.

The group said this £5.6 million expense would mean that all the produce given out as part of the Department of Health’s School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme would be organic and support farmers in the UK.

‘Worse than supermarket produce’

Nick Mole, from PAN UK, said: “Our aim is not to alarm parents but they do have a right to know what chemicals are in the food being given to their children.

“While we applaud the Department of Health’s efforts to get children eating more fruit and vegetables, our research shows that the produce they are being given is generally worse than on the supermarket shelves.

“Given how little it would cost to switch the scheme to organic, the government shouldn’t be putting our children’s health at risk when there are other options available.”

The group said it analysed the results of government testing of produce supplied between 2005 and 2016, with two-thirds of the tests finding residue of more than one pesticide.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “Fruit and vegetables supplied through the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme follow the same safety and quality legislation as all other fruit and vegetables supplied for consumption in the UK.

“Maximum residue levels are set significantly below a level that could represent a risk to health, with the most sensitive individuals in the population taken into consideration.

“On the rare occasions when an MRL is exceeded, our thorough surveillance system detects it and the Food Standards Authority take the necessary action to guarantee safety.”

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow Tes on Twitter and like Tes on Facebook