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PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES SERVICE
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New Analysis of U.S. Food Residues
June 7, 1994
In May 1994, the Environmental Working Group released
"Washed, Peeled -- Contaminated," a report analyzing new U.S.
government information on pesticide residues in food. The
report finds that washing, peeling and otherwise preparing
food for consumption does not remove or decrease the number
of pesticides present in fresh fruits and vegetables. These
findings are based on an original analysis of data from the
Pesticide Data Program of the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA). These data are designed to be
representative of regional production and population
distribution in the United States.
The report states that millions of infants and children in
the U.S. are exposed every day to combinations of pesticides
in their food that may present serious long-term health
risks. These combinations may also cause short-term ill
effects such as nausea, headache, fever and vomiting in a
small number of children. According to data presented in the
report, this exposure is likely to be greater in the summer
months when more fresh fruits and vegetables are consumed.
The authors also point out that fruits and vegetables are
essential to a healthy diet, and increased consumption will
improve human health overall. Unfortunately however,
increasing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables also
raises exposure to scores of hazardous pesticides found in
those foods. They further stress that simultaneous exposure
to the many different pesticides in the food supply presents
special risks to infants and children, and that current
government standards do not take into account the relatively
commonplace multiple exposures that are documented in the
report.
The report's findings include:
-- More than 80% of peach, apple and celery samples contained
residues of one or more pesticides. Apples had up to eight
residues in a single sample, followed by seven different
pesticides found in one peach sample, and six residues each
in samples of grapes and celery.
-- Simultaneous exposures to different pesticides in single
servings of fruits and vegetables are common even when
produce is washed, peeled, cored and prepared for normal
fresh consumption.
For peaches and apples, multiple residues were found in the
majority of all samples; 58% of peach samples had two or more
pesticides, as did 52% of apples. The next three crops with
the highest percentages of multiple residues were celery,
grapes and green beans, where 49%, 40% and 32% of samples
tested had two or more pesticides respectively.
The USDA data confirm that it is not unusual for infants and
young children to eat single fruits or servings of vegetables
with residues of up to five or more pesticides on them. At
the high end of the multiple-residue profile, 11% of peach
and apple samples, 9% of celery samples, 7% of grape samples,
and 5% of green bean samples had four or more pesticides on
them.
-- In analyzing the USDA data the authors found 12 different
carcinogens, 17 different neurotoxins, and 11 different
pesticides that disrupt the endocrine or reproductive system
in just 12 fruits and vegetables tested.
The authors recommend that the following actions be taken:
-- Grocers should immediately expand the availability and
promotion of certified organic food.
-- Retailers should adopt a policy to phase out the sale of
food containing pesticides that are considered particularly
hazardous based on current scientific understanding. To
accomplish this goal, grocers should require their suppliers
to eliminate the use of the most hazardous pesticides. And to
enforce such a program, grocers should require from producers
full disclosure of all pesticides applied to the crops that
they purchase, and should conduct independent testing of a
reasonable percentage of produce to ensure that hazardous
pesticides are not applied.
-- Congress must overhaul food safety laws to phase out
highly hazardous pesticides from the food supply and to
specifically protect infants and children from the pesticides
that remain.
Source/contact: Environmental Working Group, 1718 Connecticut
Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20009; phone (202) 667-
6982; fax (202) 232-2592; email ewg@igc.apc.org. Copies of
the report may be ordered for $10 each including postage and
handling. Washington DC residents, please add 60 cents per
copy for sales tax.
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The Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) is a
pesticide-related news service posted weekly by the Pesticide
Action Network North America Regional Center (PANNA). PANNA
is located at 116 New Montgomery Street, #810, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Tel: (415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253. To
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