Half of All the Non-Organic Fruit & Veg Is Contaminated With Pesicides - UK Government Study Confirms
Almost Half of the fresh fruit and veg sold across the UK is contaminated with toxic pesticidesNearly every orange, 94% of pineapples and 90% of pears sampled were laced with traces of chemicals used to kill bugs.
High proportions of apples, grapes and tomatoes were also tainted, as were parsnips, melons and cucumbers.
contain multiple pesticides.
up to ten different chemicals were detected in a single sample.
the "cocktail effect" of so many different chemicals endangers health.
some of the pesticides are not only cancer-causing but
also so-called "gender-benders" - chemicals that disrupt human sexuality.
widespread contamination of conventionally-produced food
46% of all the food samples were found to contain detectable levels of pesticides.
25% contained more than one pesticide.
In 57 cases the levels of contamination were so serious that they breached the government's safety limits.
They included 13 samples of beans in pods, and 10 yams, as well as potatoes, spinach and chilli peppers.
the vast majority of organic food tested was clean.
Government scientists say that the residues would be "unlikely" to damage the health of those that eat them. But
this is disputed by a growing body of experts concerned about the impact of mixtures of different chemicals.
Many consumers buy organic food because they're worried about pesticide residues.
"The FSA itself recommends buying organic food if you want to avoid residues.
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Here are the full reports, also below is a summary of the results for each fruit or vegetable:
Pesticides Residues Monitoring: Fourth Quarter Results (October to December 2008)
Published 25 June 2009
Download the report:
- Report with summary tables (pdf, 232 pages, 1.8 MB)
- Brand name annex (pdf, 244 pages, 668 kb)
- Summary tables only (Rich text format, about 125 pages, 8.35 MB)
Published on Sunday, August 2, 2009 by The Sunday Herald/UK
Half of All the Fruit & Veg You Buy is Contaminated
Nearly every orange, 94% of pineapples and 90% of pears sampled were laced with traces of chemicals used to kill bugs. High proportions of apples, grapes and tomatoes were also tainted, as were parsnips, melons and cucumbers.
Experts warn that the "cocktail effect" of so many different chemicals endangers health. They also point out that some of the pesticides are not only cancer-causing but also so-called "gender-benders" - chemicals that disrupt human sexuality.
The revelations about the widespread contamination of conventionally-produced food have also prompted renewed attacks on the government's Food Standards Agency.
The FSA published a report last week casting doubt on the health benefits of eating organic food, which is mostly produced without pesticides.
Over 4000 samples of more than 50 kinds of food on sale to the public in 2008 have been tested by scientists for some 240 pesticides.
Detailed reports for the government's Pesticide Residues Committee show that 46% of all the food samples were found to contain detectable levels of pesticides. Just over 25% contained more than one pesticide.
In 57 cases the levels of contamination were so serious that they breached the government's safety limits. They included 13 samples of beans in pods, and 10 yams, as well as potatoes, spinach and chilli peppers.
There were hardly any types of fruit and veg found to be completely free of contamination, although the vast majority of organic food tested was clean. As well as fruit and vegetables, smoothies, whole-grain breakfast cereals, oily fish and wine all contained pesticides (see accompanying table).
Lemons with an organic food label (Bio) are on display at a stand of the BioFach fair for organic trade at the fair grounds in Nuremberg, southern Germany, February 2009. Organic food supporters defended the benefits of naturally-grown produce, after a report suggested there are no significant health advantages from it.
Hundreds of pages of tables [see links above] released by the Pesticide Residues Committee show that many of the contaminated products were bought at well-known supermarkets in Scotland. They include an iceberg lettuce, a courgette and a packet of Cheerios from a Tesco store in Glasgow.
Asda was found to be selling parsnips in Glasgow, Chinese leaves in Edinburgh and apricots in Aberdeen, all with pesticides. Baby food and oranges from Sainsbury's in Glasgow were contaminated, as were white bread and bagels at Morrisons in Aberdeen.
Government scientists say that the residues would be "unlikely" to damage the health of those that eat them. But this is disputed by a growing body of experts concerned about the impact of mixtures of different chemicals.
"Researchers are concerned about the possible adverse health effects of very low-level exposures to mixtures of chemicals," said professor Andrew Watterson, head of the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group at the University of Stirling.
Watterson pointed out that several of the pesticides found on food were thought to be carcinogenic. Others were suspected of being endocrine disruptors, meaning that they could cause sex changes.
He also criticised the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for failing to include the impact of pesticides in last week's report on organic food. "Why did the FSA apparently frame the recent research project to exclude the human and environmental health impacts of so-called food contaminants?" he asked.
The FSA report reviewed previous studies and concluded that there were "no important differences" in the nutrition content of organic food compared to conventionally-farmed food.
But the FSA has since come under fire. The Soil Association's Scottish director, Hugh Raven, said: "Many consumers buy organic food because they're worried about pesticide residues.
"The FSA itself recommends buying organic food if you want to avoid residues. Yet they were specifically excluded from this study."
The FSA accepted that the report only examined the nutritional content of food, and did not deal with pesticides. "It's a fact that conventional production methods permit the use of a wider range of pesticides than organic," said an FSA spokeswoman.
"The FSA is neither for nor against organic food. Our interest is in providing accurate information to support consumer choice."
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From the report here are the details for various fruits and vegetables. Before the 1940s or so when 'pesticides' were intriduced no foods had these toxins in them - infact everyone on the planet was eating organic food.
The columns are not lined up - look at the first 3 numbers for each food, the first number is the number of samples taken for the item, the second number is for those with residues that do not exceed the Maximul Recommended level, the third number is the number of samples above the maximum level.
The last two numbers are the number of organic samples taken and the number of samples with any residues - not almost all the organic produce had zero residues of any kind - while almost all the conventional foods had residues, often multiple residues and most has some resides about the recommended limit.
Table 2: All commodities (number of samples)
Food Analysed With residues
at or below the
MRL
With residues
above the MRL
With residues of non-
approved pesticides
(UK only)
With multiple
residues
Organic
samples tested
Organic samples
with residues
Apples 76 67 1 56 4 0
Beans with Pods 52 26 13 29 1 0
Bread 108 64 0 18 1 0
Carrots 48 25 0 1 10 2 0
Celery 24 11 0 3 7 0
Chilli Peppers 23 10 1 5 0 N/A
Chinese Cabbage 36 22 0 4 0 N/A
Cooking Oils 90 17 0 2 7 1
Courgettes and Marrows 26 15 0 5 1 0
Cucumber 54 33 1 3 21 16 0
Duck 72 1 0 0 0 N/A
Grapes 28 26 1 23 0 N/A
Infant Food 35 7 0 1 0 9 1
Lettuce 57 25 0 12 0 N/A
Melons 54 38 0 18 0 N/A
Milk 78 0 0 0 13 0
Nuts 72 29 0 1 3 1
Oily Fish 55 33 0 17 0 N/A
Oranges 47 46 0 45 1 0
Parsnips 49 37 0 31 8 0
Pears 60 54 0 50 5 0
Peppers 24 9 0 3 0 N/A
Potatoes 87 24 0 0 2 0
Prawns 58 0 0 0 0 N/A
Sausages 57 11 0 0 0 N/A
Spinach 54 28 0 1 16 2 1
Tomato Products 48 9 0 0 5 1
Yams 46 12 10 N/A 13 0 N/A
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