Since March 2017, our garden has been welcoming a Master thesis project, from Wageningen University and Research in collaboration with EPFL (Switzerland), about the effects of air pollutants on urban agriculture.
The project aimed at assessing the risk of consuming agriculture products grown in cities. Spinach was grown in pots with clean soil at three different locations in Amsterdam. After an exposure period of 4-6 weeks leaves were harvested and analysed. The first results just arrived showing that the concentrations of heavy metals, Nitrate and PAHs were relatively low, and below the legal EU limits for vegetables. The results were comparable for the three locations in Amsterdam as well as in Wageningen, considered as a rural site representing background levels. Therefore, the spinach in the plots were safe to be consumed. However, it is a small scale study, too limited to conclude whether it is always safe to consume products of urban agriculture.
In general it is a good precaution to wash your harvest thoroughly before consuming!
Voor meer informatie, ga naar: https://vanamsterdamsebodem.nl/gevolgen-van-luchtvervuiling-voor-spinazie-uit-eigen-stad/