Growing Edible Crops

This leaflet explains the potential health risks of growing edible crops on such areas of land where the condition of the soil may not be known. The aim of the leaflet is to draw gardeners’ attention to the possibility that the soil may contain elevated levels of contaminants that could pose a risk to human health, both through contact with the soil and through eating food grown in the soil, and to provide information on what can be done to reduce these risks.

Note: Report author

This leaflet was published by Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) in 2009, and was updated in 2014. In 2023 EPUK merged with the Institution of Environmental Sciences (the IES) to become part of the Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC).

The IES is hosting this leaflet as a legacy resource to preserve access to EPUK's published guidance. While much of the information remains useful, readers should note that the document has not been updated since 2014 and may not reflect the latest legislation, policy, guidance, or best practice. Users should exercise their professional judgement and consult the most recent authoritative guidance where appropriate.