Supermarket foods came under the spotlight after FDA Laboratories issued a clarification on the interpretation of pesticide residue findings contained in an African Centre for Biodiversity report.
FDA Laboratories has issued a clarification on an independent report that found pesticide residues in commonly consumed South African foods, saying its role was limited to conducting laboratory analysis and that it does not endorse the report's interpretation of the test results.
The clarification follows the release of the African Centre for Biodiversity's (ACB) June 2026 report, What's really in our food?, which reported pesticide residues in a range of supermarket products, including maize meal, bread, tomato sauce and baby food.
FDA Laboratories said it supports transparent, science-based discussion around food safety but is concerned that some of the laboratory data contained in the report was interpreted in a way that may have created unnecessary alarm among consumers.
"FDA Laboratories' role was limited to generating analytical test data. The company did not author the report, did not prepare the conclusions, and does not endorse the interpretations, findings or opinions presented in the published report," the company said in a statement.
