A
massive proportion of our everyday food is contaminated with pesticide – with
up to 98 per cent of some fruits carrying traces of the chemicals. Almost
half of all fresh produce is affected by increasingly heavy use of the
substances, a study of official figures has revealed. Overall,
the proportion of supermarket foods with pesticide residues has almost doubled
in a decade. Some
46 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables, such as grapes and apples, contained
residues, up from 25 per cent in 2003.
In
terms of processed food, residues were found in almost 97 per cent of flour and
73.6 per cent of bread. In
most cases the traces were below internationally recognised safety levels,
however critics argue many of the substances are a known risk to human health
and warn that the cumulative ‘cocktail effect’ of even very low levels may be
harmful. The
figures are based on an analysis of government surveys involving hundreds of
tests on 40 food types for 372 different pesticides.
They
found 91.3 per cent of grapes were contaminated, while almost three in 100 were
above the legal maximum residue level. They were also found on 98 per cent of
oranges, 90.6 per cent of apples and 73 per cent of carrots. Advocates
say the chemicals protect crops and boost yields, which helps to keep food
prices down.
Farmers also use them to prevent blemishes and to ensure fruit and vegetables
meet the ‘beauty’ standards demanded by supermarkets. According to the figures
within the report Pesticides On A Plate, published by the Pesticide Action
Network UK today, the most common pesticide found was carbendazim. The
group said there is evidence linking it to developmental damage to mammals in
the womb, as well as cancers and birth defects. It
was found on apples, beans with pods, cucumbers, grapes, oranges, pine-apples,
pre-packed salads, raspberries, rice, some citrus fruits and spinach.
Heavy
use of certain pesticides, such as chlorpyrifos, has been associated with the
decline in bees, vital to pollinate food and other crops. In
theory, consumers can protect themselves by washing or peeling produce. But a
study published by the Food Standards Agency last year found this is not always
effective. Experts at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern
Ireland found residues of the antioxidant diphenylamine and the fungicide
carbendazim on apples ‘were not decreased by washing’. Washing
also failed to remove chemicals from potatoes – which are frequently eaten in
their skins.
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