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For a Young Child, Even One Serving of Some Fruits and
Vegetables Can Exceed Safe Daily Limits
YONKERS, NY - Consumer Reports, in one of the most
comprehensive studies ever undertaken of pesticide residues on fruits
and vegetables, has found that even a single daily serving of some
produce can deliver unsafe levels of toxic pesticide residues for
young children. Though virtually all the foods tested were within
legal limits, those limits are often at odds with what the government
deems safe for young children.
"Our findings certainly don't mean that parents should stop giving
their children plenty of healthful produce," said Dr. Edward Groth,
Technical Policy and Public Service Director at Consumers Union, "but
these findings do suggest that parents might want to be careful about
the amounts and types of fruits and vegetables they serve their
children."
For the first-of-its kind analysis of government data on 27,000
samples of domestic and imported produce, Consumer Reports computed
toxicity scores for 27 foods. The analysis found that seven popular
fruits and vegetables-apples, grapes, green beans, peaches, pears,
spinach, and winter squash-have toxicity scores up to hundreds of
times higher than the rest of the foods analyzed. Each score is based
on three factors: how many samples of a food contained individual
pesticides and the average amount and toxicity of each pesticide.
Highlights of the study's findings include:
· Domestic produce had more, or more toxic, pesticides than imported produce in two-thirds of the cases where imports were tested.
· There are vast differences in the pesticide residues that different fresh foods contain. In general, processed foods had lower residues than fresh.
· Just one insecticide, methyl parathion, accounts for the lion's share of the total toxicity of the foods we analyzed-and its use is increasing on crops such as apples and green beans. Two out of five young children who eat a U.S.-grown peach will get too much methyl parathion.
· Aldicarb, the most acutely toxic pesticide, is making a comeback in potato production.
· DDT and other pesticides banned for decades, including the carcinogen dieldrin, still show up regularly in residue tests; There is a 77 percent chance that a serving of winter squash delivers too much of a banned pesticide to be safe for a young child. Dieldrin can't be washed off.
The study is based on data collected by the US Department of
Agriculture from thousands of samples of fruits and
vegetables-domestic and imported, fresh and processed. Consumer
Reports analyzed the results of the testing done between 1994 and
1997 on 27 food categories, covering some 27,000 samples (a sample is
about five pounds of produce). Residue testing was done after samples
were prepared just as they are at home: oranges and bananas were
peeled, apples and peaches were rinsed, and so forth.
The findings are especially pertinent to children, who eat far
more produce per pound of body weight than adults and who are more
sensitive to the effects of pesticides because their nervous systems
are changing and developing so rapidly. Some pesticides are suspected
of causing cancer and some may interfere with endocrine activity. In
1993, the National Academy of Sciences issued a major report on
pesticides in children's diets, which recommended that U.S. pesticide
laws be overhauled to make foods safer for children.
That report triggered unanimous passage in 1996 of the Food
Quality Protection Act, which requires the Environmental Protection
Agency to review all pesticides and tighten exposure limits to make
them safer for young children. Based on this analysis, Consumers
Union will ask the EPA to restrict or ban specific pesticide uses
that expose children to residues above safe limits.
What Parents Can Do
Consumers should NOT stop serving their children fresh produce, but should:
· Avoid giving children large amounts of the foods with the highest toxicity scores.
· Peel those foods with a high toxicity score, such as apples, peaches, and pears. Washing with a very diluted dishwashing detergent also helps and is also important for green, leafy vegetables.
· Consider buying organically grown produce-when Consumer Reports tested organic produce in 1998, we found little or no toxic pesticide residues.
The March issue of Consumer Reports will be available March
2nd wherever magazines are sold. To subscribe to Consumer Reports,
call 1-800-765-1845. In addition, information and articles from
Consumer Reports can be accessed online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
Our study, "Do You Know What You're Eating? An Analysis of U.S.
Government Data on Pesticide Residues in Foods," is available at
www.consumersunion.org.
The material above is intended for use by legitimate news entities only. It may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information-gathering organization, serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers.
