PESTICIDE ALARM NEEDS A CLOSER LOOK
Parents agonizing over serving fresh apples and grapes to their children in the wake of Consumer Reports' latest analysis of pesticides in produce should keep one word in mind:
Theoretical.
Robert Hollingworth, director of Michigan State University's National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, and an expert in pesticide residues; notes that the continued alarming reports from the group are based on theories - not proven facts.
"There few if any studies that say that pesticide residues in the diet causes injury to kids," Hollingworth said. "These are theoretical calculations without direct physical evidence of a problem."
Hollingworth said that it's not an issue of Consumer Reports being wrong, but consumers should understand that their calculations of risk oversimplify a complex situation. Hollingworth said that the toxicity data used by Consumer Reports contain substantial safety factors to allow for uncertainties. So, it is not correct to interpret the report as indicating that produce in the United States is unsafe to children. However, their results are useful in identifying areas where risk reduction could be most effective.
"While you want to err on the side of caution in protecting children, if you're too protective you can create unwarranted fear - and you would have no cheap produce. It's clearly better to eat fresh fruits and vegetables for health reasons than to reduce consumption to avoid pesticides."
Meanwhile, another National Food Safety and Toxicology expert, Les Bourquin, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, points out that Consumer Reports' recommendation to wash fruits and vegetables in detergent is contrary to the FDA's recommendation.
"You can argue that this is just replacing one residue with another," Bourquin said. "The FDA recommends simply rinsing fruits and vegetables thoroughly in clean water and scrubbing when possible."
Contact both Bourquin and Hollingworth at the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, (517) 432-3100. Bourquin also can be reached at (517) 353-9664.
Sue Nichols, MSU Research Communications Coordinator, (517) 355-2281. [email protected]
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