Your berries may not be as safe as you think: Here’s why regulators are concerned

For most of us, berries sit in that “guilt-free pleasure” category, colourful, antioxidant-rich, and the kind of thing you can snack on without thinking twice. That’s why the latest move by Australia’s chemical regulator has raised eyebrows. The country’s pesticide authority has paused the use of dimethoate, a long-standing chemical used on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Not because the science around the pesticide suddenly changed, but because we did. Australians are eating far more berries than they were a few years ago, and the surge in consumption means young children could now inch closer to the maximum safe exposure level. Dimethoate is an insecticide that has been used in Australia since the 1950s. It belongs to a class of chemicals that inhibit the enzyme acet