Researchers show that pesticide contamination is more than apple-skin deep

Pesticides and herbicides are critical to ensuring food security worldwide, but these substances can present a safety risk to people who unwittingly ingest them. Protecting human health, therefore, demands sensitive analytical methods to identify even trace levels of potentially harmful substances. Now, researchers reporting in Nano Letters have developed a high-tech imaging method to detect pesticide contamination at low levels, and its application on fruits reveals that current food safety practices may be insufficient.