Thursday, 22 July 2004

Press Release: Soil and Health Association

27 pesticides in grapes and raisins

Grapes, raisins and sultanas may contain up to 27 different pesticides,
according to an analysis carried out by Soil & Health, the Safe Food
Campaign and Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa NZ.

Data comes from the just recently released Third Quarterly report from the
NZ Food Safety Authority, as well as their earlier First and Second
Quarterly reports and their Surveillance Survey. These results were
augmented by an independent analysis of grapes carried out by Soil and
Health, with the result that data from 22 samples were analysed altogether.
Grapes have been analysed for the first time in New Zealand for pesticide
residues.

Grapes had 13 different pesticides detected in the latest quarterly report
of the Total Diet Survey. Other foods with high numbers of pesticides
included celery, cucumber and apples with nine pesticides, and tomatoes,
celery, meat pies, muffins and sausages with 7. Nectarines, with five
different pesticides scooped the honour of having the highest level of any
pesticide present, with 1.8 mg/kg of iprodione. In fact only 9 of the 58
foods analysed had no pesticides and some of those were loaded with heavy
metals.

Two pesticides of particular concern detected in the samples of grapes,
raisins, sultanas, nectarines and strawberries were the fungicides iprodione
and the dithiocarbamates. Iprodione, also found in New Zealand infant
weaning food, is a suspect 'gender-bender' or hormone disruptor and also a
carcinogen. The dithiocarbamates, found in most of the fruit and vegetables
analysed for them (17 out of 25), break down to form ethylene thiourea,
which is a known hormone disruptor, and may cause cancer, birth defects and
genetic damage.

Ms White, Co-convenor of the Safe Food Campaign, maintains: "Recent
research, questions whether any safe level can be established for hormone
disruptors, especially when we consider young children and babies in the
womb." She further commented that the best way of avoiding these
questionable residues is to get organic food, especially fruit, salad
vegetables and raisins.

"What should be the healthiest foods in our diet have an unacceptable level
of contamination", said Dr Meriel Watts, coordinator of Pesticide Action
Network Aotearoa NZ, commenting on the discovery that oranges are the only
fruit or vegetable to be clear of pesticide residues. "A number of fruits
and vegetables also had the highest levels of multiple residues, raising
concerns about the increased toxicity due to interactions between the
chemicals."

Steffan Browning, Co-Chair of Soil & Health, questions the "spin" in the
Food Safety Authority's conclusion that current residues are of no concern,
yet the Environmental Risk Management Authority and Ministry for the
Environment are both interested in pesticide reduction. "Serious pesticide
reduction will only come with improved support for organic research, taking
out the best of organic production and mainstreaming the technologies", said
Mr Browning, "Meantime Organic NZ will be publishing further tests and
analysis."

Soil & Health, the Safe Food Campaign and Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa
NZ are calling on the Government to do more to support New Zealand farmers
and growers in finding alternatives to risky chemical pesticides and to
reduce pesticide residues in food.

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