MINNEAPOLIS, MN— The multi-billion-dollar cut flower industry is facing increasing pressure to address the potential health risks posed by persistent pesticide residue to florists and workers, following a Minneapolis business owner’s decision to close her thriving shop due to severe health complications. Sarah Chen, 30, shuttered her eight-year floristry business in late 2024 after struggling for years with chronic symptoms—including severe headaches, nausea, and disorientation—which she, and medical professionals, now attribute to daily occupational chemical exposure.
Chen’s experience highlights a growing, yet often invisible, hazard for those who handle imported bouquets, suggesting that the beauty of fresh flowers conceals a potentially toxic workplace reality. Unlike food agriculture, which faces strict limits on chemical residues, flowers are largely unregulated concerning pesticide levels in major consumer markets including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Experts describe imported cut flowers, which represent approximately 85% of flowers sold in the UK and a significant percentage globally, as “toxic bombs” due to the high concentration of chemicals used to ensure perfect presentation during long-distance transport from major producing nations like Ecuador, Colombia, and Kenya. These chemicals are designed to penetrate pests but also pose inhalation and dermal absorption risks to florists and handlers, many of whom remain unaware of the danger.
Studies Reveal Alarming Exposure Levels
Limited but critical research confirms significant contamination. A 2018 European study analyzing 90 bouquets identified 107 different pesticides. Alarmingly, 70 of these compounds were detected in the urine of florists participating in the study, even among those who wore double layers of protective gloves. Exposure to one chemical, clofentezine—classified as a possible carcinogen by U.S. authorities and restricted in the EU since 2023 due to its endocrine-disrupting properties—exceeded acceptable thresholds by four times.
The potential long-term impacts gained tragic visibility in France after Sophie Dubois’s daughter, Emmy, died of cancer in 2022. French authorities made a groundbreaking decision to recognize a connection between the child’s cancer and Dubois’s occupational pesticide exposure during her pregnancy, underscoring the potential for chemical transfer and intergenerational harm.
Researchers Jean-Noël Jouzel and Giovanni Prete are investigating similar cases, noting a plausible link between parental exposure in floristry and elevated childhood diseases, including cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders, although establishing definitive causation remains scientifically challenging.
Industry Lacks Mandated Safety Standards
Professional florists widely agree that the industry suffers from a severe education and awareness gap regarding chemical risks. Many learn on the job without ever receiving formal instruction on required safety protocols.
“If you had no education in this, your baseline as a florist is maybe thinking: it’s just dust,” explained Emma Harrison, a grower working to raise awareness. “It’s not dust. It’s chemicals.”
The British Florist Association (BFA) currently has no publicly available, mandatory occupational hazard guidelines specifically addressing pesticide exposure for its members. While some floristry courses recommend the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), these are not universally required.
Professor Michael Eddleston, a clinical toxicology expert at the University of Edinburgh, expressed dismay that worker protection has not become a priority: “It surprises me that this hasn’t been picked up before and it hasn’t been recognized as a problem. But I think it’s something to worry about.”
Demands for Transparency and Regulation
The opacity of the global flower supply chain, where imported flowers often arrive without chemical or origin labeling beyond the wholesale level, makes addressing the issue difficult. Florists typically purchase “blind,” lacking the information needed to make safer sourcing decisions.
Activists are pushing for regulatory change, similar to consumer bodies in France demanding compulsory chemical labeling on flowers and maximum residue limits.
For former shop owner Chen, who experienced elevated liver enzymes potentially signaling liver damage before her symptoms subsided upon leaving the job, the solution centers on proactive safety measures. She advises colleagues to use protective gloves, increase ventilation, and prioritize sourcing locally grown flowers that typically adhere to stricter environmental standards.
“Floristry is beautiful, and there’s so many people that have amazing careers,” Chen stated. “But I do think there’s a really dark side to floristry that is just not talked about.” The industry now faces pressure to enhance transparency and implement mandatory safety standards to protect the health of its workforce.