- NEW YORK (CNN) -- Eating fresh fruits and vegetables may be good for
your health, but some may contain levels of residual toxic pesticides
that can be particularly dangerous to children, according to study findings
announced Thursday.
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- Researchers who examined 27 foods found
that some of the produce had residual levels that were too high to be safely
consumed by young children.
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- The study by Consumers Union, which publishes
Consumer Reports magazine, is one of the largest ever to examine pesticide
residues on produce, and was done to fulfill a 1996 federal mandate.
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- In its announcement, Consumers Union
said it didn't want to scare parents, but rather to help them make more
informed decisions. The group said it also wanted to send a "simple
message" to produce growers.
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- SEVEN DANGER ZONES:
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- Seven popular fruits and vegetables were
found to have Toxicity Index (TI) scores that were up to hundreds of times
higher than the rest of the foods analyzed: * apples * grapes * green
beans * peaches * pears * spinach * winter squash
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- Source: Consumers Union
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- WHAT'S A TI?:
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- The TI, or Toxicity Index, was developed
by Consumers Union researchers to compare the amounts of pesticide levels
in produce.
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- It is an integrated measure of the frequency
of detection of residue, the average levels of detected residue and the
relative toxicity of the detected residue.
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- The TI does not determine the health
risk. Risk is determined by the frequency of the consumption of at-risk
produce, combined with specific health factors of individuals, such as
age, health status and other pesticide exposures.
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- Source: Consumers Union
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- "Kids are entitled to safe fruits
and vegetables," said Rhoda Karpatkin, president of Consumers Union.
"Parents do their job when they tell (children) such foods are good
for them ... Food growers should do their jobs by using only pesticides
that are safe."
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- Most pesticide residue within legal limits
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- Almost all pesticide residues were found
to be within legal limits, said Dr. Edward Groth, adding: "But does
it mean they're safe? No."
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- "It's too easy for a child to get
too much pesticide residue from their daily diet," said Groth, director
of Technical Policy and Public Service for Consumers Union.
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- In studying the 27,000 samples of domestic
and imported fruits and vegetables, the CU researchers looked at data
gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Toxicity scores, based
on a Toxicity Index (TI) created by the researchers, were computed for
27 foods.
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- The study was based on the latest science
available, rather than scientific models, officials said. The goal was
to see if the government's accepted pesticide residue levels were safe
for consumption by adults and children.
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- The Environmental Protection Agency responded
to the report by noting that "the U.S. food supply is still the safest
in the world and the benefits of eating a balanced diet outweigh any risks."
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- "EPA is in the process of implementing
the Food Quality Protection Act (of 1996)," the agency said.
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- "Once in effect, the new law will
provide the public with the strongest protections ever against harmful
levels of pesticides, and it will be especially protective of the diet
of children and infants."
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- PESTICIDES:
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- * Methyl parathion. This accounted
for most of the residue found by CU researchers. Methyl parathion is increasingly
used on some crops, including apples, peaches and green beans. Two out
of five children who eat peaches grown in the United States will consume
too much of this pesticide.
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- * Aldicarb. Aldicarb is considered
the most acutely toxic pesticide. Researchers said it is increasingly being
used in potato production.
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- DDT and others
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- The CU researchers found DDT and other
pesticides that have been banned for years are still being used regularly
by produce growers.
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- The carcinogen dieldrin, which is among
the banned pesticides found in the study, can not be washed off foods.
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- Source: Consumers Union
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- HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR PRODUCE SAFER?
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-
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- * Peel fresh fruits with higher TI scores,
including apples, peaches and pears. * Wash fruits and vegetables -- including
leafy vegetables -- in a very diluted solution of mild dishwashing detergent
and water. * Buy more processed foods, which were generally found to
have lower levels of pesticide residue. * Buy fresh fruits and vegetables
with lower TI rates. Or, buy organically grown produce, which in a previous
study was found to have very low levels of pesticide residue.
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- Source: Consumers Union
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- Many imports safer than domestic produce
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- Contrary to what many people might believe,
imported foods don't necessarily have higher pesticide levels.
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- "Two out of three times, the opposite
was true," Groth said.
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- Concerns about pesticide levels are not
just limited to possible cancer links, said Nancy Metcalf, assistant editor
of Consumer Reports. Rather, today's concerns are about the neurological
damage that pesticides can cause, because many pesticides are designed
to kill insects by attacking the nervous system.
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- This puts the nervous systems of children
at particular risk, because they are smaller than adults, Metcalf said.
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- "Their nervous systems are changing
and developing extremely rapidly," Metcalf said. "And ... they
just don't eat what (adults) do," because they tend to eat more fruits
and vegetables.
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- Officials said pregnant women should
be especially careful of what they eat, because of the risk of harming
a developing fetus.
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- It's still healthy
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- Washing and peeling fruits and vegetables
doesn't get rid of all pesticides, she added, because some pesticides
permeate the product.
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- The researchers stress that consumers
should not reduce consumption of fruits and vegetables, even for small
children. The benefits of eating the foods outweigh the risks associated
with pesticide residue, they said.
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- Consumers Union advises people to lobby
grocers or produce suppliers, urging them to buy fruits and vegetables
grown without high-risk pesticides. Such consumer demands could eventually
force growers and produce buyers to make available a wider selection of
safe produce.
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- The Consumers Union study was conducted
after President Bill Clinton signed the Food Quality Protection Act in
1996.
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- The act mandated a review of how the
entire population -- from infants to adults -- tolerates pesticides used
in growing produce.
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- Consumers Union said it plans to recommend
that the Environmental Protection Agency reexamine accepted residual
levels of pesticides on produce, particularly the pesticide methyl parathion.
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- Methyl parathion residue was found frequently
on foods popular among growing children, including apples, grapes, peaches,
pears and green beans.
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