Photo: Kochia, southwest Montana. © 2020 Delena Norris-Tull
Pesticide Residues in Human Foods
Summaries of the research and commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, October 2020.
Pesticides, including herbicides, are so prevalent in agriculture in the developed world, that their prevalence in human foods has now to be considered when we attempt to examine how we will use pesticides and herbicides in the future.
The Environmental Working Group produces an annual report, “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” that summarizes the data on the prevalence of pesticides and herbicides in produce in the United States. The report concludes that, “Nearly 70 percent of the produce sold in the United States comes with pesticide residues.”
Most concerning is the fact that the “USDA found 225 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on popular fruits and vegetables.”
The EWG expresses concern that U.S. pesticide regulation is badly in need of reform, as “monitoring and enforcement is scattered across multiple federal and state agencies.” The USDA Pesticide Data Program, initiated in 1991, is a crucial program for monitoring pesticides on foods, but the USDA does not test all foods. Some food testing is conducted by the FDA. Thus, inexplicably, two separate Federal agencies are tasked with testing different foods for the presence of pesticides. But not all foods are tested annually. And not all pesticides currently in use are tested!
At the time of publication of the March 2019 report, EWG found that baby food was last tested in 2013, oats in 2014, and baby formula in 2014.
Although the EPA is in charge of regulating pesticide use, States are in charge of enforcing those regulations. And the EPA relies on chemical companies to submit their own safety data, to be approved by the EPA. EWG added: “The EPA does not conduct its own independent testing of pesticides.” Thus, the fox is left guarding the henhouse. In addition, scientists have expressed concern about the synergistic effects of multiple pesticides, and those effects are not assessed by the chemical industries.
Using data from the USDA and the FDA, the EWG creates a list of what they call the “Dirty Dozen, “the fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides and herbicides. Strawberries, spinach, and kale were at the top of the list in 2019. On kale, “the most frequently detected pesticide, found on nearly 60 percent of kale samples, was Dacthal, or DCPA – classified by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1995 as a possible human carcinogen and prohibited for use in Europe since 2009.” Dacthal is an herbicide used to treat noxious weeds in several agricultural crops. It is known to degrade slowly in agricultural soils.
The report also includes a list of the “Clean Fifteen,” the fifteen fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticides. In 2019, avocados and sweet corn made the top of that list. And it was encouraging to note that “more than 70% of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no pesticide residues.”
The EWG report cites various research reports on the health impacts on humans, and in particular, on children, of consuming foods high in pesticides and herbicides. And they also cite research on the benefits of consuming foods low in pesticides.
While washing produce does reduce the amount of pesticides remaining, washing does not remove all pesticide residue. Cooking foods does typically diminish the level of pesticides. In summary, the EWG states that, with foods found to be low in pesticides, it is safe to consume non-organic foods. But for those foods found to be high in pesticides, consumers should consider buying organic products.
Reference:
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Pesticide Residues in Human Foods
Summaries of the research and commentary by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, October 2020.
Pesticides, including herbicides, are so prevalent in agriculture in the developed world, that their prevalence in human foods has now to be considered when we attempt to examine how we will use pesticides and herbicides in the future.
The Environmental Working Group produces an annual report, “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” that summarizes the data on the prevalence of pesticides and herbicides in produce in the United States. The report concludes that, “Nearly 70 percent of the produce sold in the United States comes with pesticide residues.”
Most concerning is the fact that the “USDA found 225 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on popular fruits and vegetables.”
The EWG expresses concern that U.S. pesticide regulation is badly in need of reform, as “monitoring and enforcement is scattered across multiple federal and state agencies.” The USDA Pesticide Data Program, initiated in 1991, is a crucial program for monitoring pesticides on foods, but the USDA does not test all foods. Some food testing is conducted by the FDA. Thus, inexplicably, two separate Federal agencies are tasked with testing different foods for the presence of pesticides. But not all foods are tested annually. And not all pesticides currently in use are tested!
At the time of publication of the March 2019 report, EWG found that baby food was last tested in 2013, oats in 2014, and baby formula in 2014.
Although the EPA is in charge of regulating pesticide use, States are in charge of enforcing those regulations. And the EPA relies on chemical companies to submit their own safety data, to be approved by the EPA. EWG added: “The EPA does not conduct its own independent testing of pesticides.” Thus, the fox is left guarding the henhouse. In addition, scientists have expressed concern about the synergistic effects of multiple pesticides, and those effects are not assessed by the chemical industries.
Using data from the USDA and the FDA, the EWG creates a list of what they call the “Dirty Dozen, “the fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides and herbicides. Strawberries, spinach, and kale were at the top of the list in 2019. On kale, “the most frequently detected pesticide, found on nearly 60 percent of kale samples, was Dacthal, or DCPA – classified by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1995 as a possible human carcinogen and prohibited for use in Europe since 2009.” Dacthal is an herbicide used to treat noxious weeds in several agricultural crops. It is known to degrade slowly in agricultural soils.
The report also includes a list of the “Clean Fifteen,” the fifteen fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticides. In 2019, avocados and sweet corn made the top of that list. And it was encouraging to note that “more than 70% of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no pesticide residues.”
The EWG report cites various research reports on the health impacts on humans, and in particular, on children, of consuming foods high in pesticides and herbicides. And they also cite research on the benefits of consuming foods low in pesticides.
While washing produce does reduce the amount of pesticides remaining, washing does not remove all pesticide residue. Cooking foods does typically diminish the level of pesticides. In summary, the EWG states that, with foods found to be low in pesticides, it is safe to consume non-organic foods. But for those foods found to be high in pesticides, consumers should consider buying organic products.
Reference:
- Environmental Working Group. (March 17, 2021). EWG’s 2021 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. EWG. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php
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