{"id":100376,"date":"2026-06-05T04:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/100376\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T04:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:56:10","slug":"danish-nitrate-limit-to-be-lowered-dramatically-nz-must-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/100376\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish nitrate limit to be lowered dramatically – NZ must follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Danish Government has officially confirmed, via its coalition agreement<\/a>, that it will dramatically lower legal limits for nitrate contamination in drinking water in line with authorities\u2019 recommendations, following outcry from Danish citizens over the country\u2019s pork industry and its links to water contamination.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace Aotearoa says that New Zealand should follow in Denmark\u2019s footsteps. The organisation says that nitrate contamination is a \u2018hidden public health crisis\u2019, warning that it will worsen if action isn\u2019t taken.<\/p>\n

The existing nitrate limits \u2013 set at 50 mg\/L NO3 , which is equivalent to the 11.3 mg\/L NO3-N metric used in New Zealand \u2013 were set in the 1950s by the World Health Organisation in response to methemoglobinemia risk in infants (Blue Baby Syndrome), but do not account for long-term and chronic health risks. Now, Denmark will lower its nitrate limits to 6 mg\/L NO3, equivalent to 1.3 mg\/L NO3-N. This follows the recommendations of an independent scientific review<\/a> commissioned by the Danish Ministry for the Environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom New Zealand to Denmark and beyond, nitrate contamination is threatening rural communities\u2019 health,\u201d says Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntensive meat and dairy corporations are poisoning drinking water, and governments are not holding them accountable. Denmark\u2019s commitment to lowering the nitrate limit is the first step towards forcing these corporations to stop their pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDenmark has just proven that public health can take precedence over corporate agribusiness lobbies. Every child should be able to grow up drinking safe, clean water at home, without pollution from industrial livestock production making them sick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLowering the nitrate limit will make that possible for Danish communities. But New Zealanders will find little comfort in this while they are drinking water that could be making them sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

A growing body of international scientific research has linked nitrate contamination in drinking water to increased risks of bowel cancer and preterm birth.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand is in the middle of a nitrate crisis,\u201d says Appelbe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready, many rural communities cannot safely drink the water coming out of their kitchen tap. Towns like Darfield and Oxford in Canterbury, or Lumsden in Southland, have levels of nitrate in their drinking water that put pregnant people at an increased risk of preterm birth. This is unacceptable, and New Zealanders should be ashamed that it\u2019s got this bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Fonterra and other corporations are reaping record profits, their intensive dairy farms are leaking nitrate and other toxins into the soil and water systems. We cannot allow a handful of wealthy agribusiness executives to compromise the health of our communities just to enrich themselves. That\u2019s why New Zealand must lower the nitrate limit immediately, just like Denmark.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPETITION: Lower nitrate limits in drinking water
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Call on the Government to lower the limit for nitrates in drinking water to safe levels.<\/p>\n

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\n Take Action
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