Frankfurt – September 10, 2026 -- The German agricultural industry association IVA has dismissed a new study by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) claiming more than 400 million pesticide-related poisoning cases occur globally each year, calling the figure scientifically indefensible.
IVA says PAN conflates exposure with confirmed poisoning
The Industrieverband Agrar e.V. (IVA) argues the PAN study fails to define what qualifies as a poisoning, relying heavily on self-reported symptoms rather than medically confirmed diagnoses. According to IVA, this methodological gap means exposure and actual poisoning are not properly separated, inflating the headline figure. A previous PAN study on global poisoning cases was withdrawn after similar criticism of its methodology and data sources.
German BfR data show pesticide contact in just 1.4% of poisoning reports
IVA points to a German pilot study by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) showing only 1.4% of evaluated poisoning reports involved pesticide contact at all. Of those, just 17.5% were linked to plant protection products specifically, with most cases tied to eye contact with disinfectants classified as biocides. IVA says this data sharply contradicts PAN's estimate of several hundred million annual cases worldwide.
IVA chief executive calls the figures a campaign tool, not science
"PAN is again constructing global poisoning figures in the hundreds of millions from unspecific symptoms, questionable extrapolations and methodological assumptions," said IVA Managing Director Frank Gemmer. He argued that equating exposure with poisoning creates a distorted picture of agriculture rather than a scientifically credible basis for policy decisions.
IVA cites EU approval process and decades of investment in user safety
The association notes that pesticides in the European Union undergo multi-year scientific approval procedures assessing risks to users, human health and the environment before market authorization, with binding usage restrictions attached. IVA adds that manufacturers have invested for decades in farmer training programs, safety information, modern packaging and dosing systems, and international stewardship programs with local partners to reduce exposure risks beyond legal requirements.