A three-way investigation is under way following the discovery of pesticide residues in organic produce imported into the Irish Republic.

Four out of 45 samples of organic fruit and vegetables tested by Department of Agriculture inspectors - almost 10 per cent - had traces of pesticides. The produce included grapefruit, lemon and courgettes from Spain and lettuce from France.

According to the Irish inspectors, the levels of contamination found were within the limits permitted for conventional fruit and vegetables, and posed no health risk.

But with imports accounting for 70 per cent of the organic produce eaten in the Republic, local growers were quick to point out that the discovery of any chemical residue could undermine consumer confidence.

The Irish findings have now been passed to the relevant Spanish and French regulatory bodies, as well as to the EU authorities in Brussels. Separate investigations are under way in an effort to establish how the contamination occurred, and whether the production or processing systems were to blame.

One of Ireland’s leading organic growers and suppliers, Josef Finke, of Ballybrado, Cahir, County Tipperary, said there were a number of ways in which organic produce could be accidentally contaminated - such as airborne sprays spreading on crops by mistake, or storage facilities being used that had not been sufficiently cleaned after first housing conventional products.

However, he added: “By rights, organic products should not have any pesticide residues at all and it is important that the certification bodies in the countries concerned investigate and establish what the risks are. Trust is a very important factor in our organic world and we are dependent on the authorities doing their job when cases like this arise.”

Ironically, in the Irish tests conventional fruit and vegetables fared much worse than organic, with half of the samples found to contain traces of no fewer than 55 different pesticides.

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