“For fruits and vegetables from intensive cultivation, a pesticide at risk was detected in more than half (51%) of the controls and at least two pesticides at risk in 30% of the controls,” he notes. UFC-Que . Choir Study Posted on March 24.
14,000 samples of organic and conventional products were analyzed for the study. The result: 150 substances “suspected of being carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction or endocrine disruptors” were detected. Among these is pyrroxifene, an endocrine disruptor suspected of being linked to head and brain malformations in Brazil or even fludioxonil, a fungicide also suspected of causing endocrine disruptors.
More contaminated food
The most contaminated food It is the cherry that has a contamination rate of at-risk residues of 91.9%. Cherries are markedly contaminated with “phosmite (47% of samples), an insecticide suspected of being toxic to reproductive function” by the European Food Safety Authority.
Celery (91.1%), grapefruit (90.6%), peaches/nectarines (89.7%), tea and nectarines (87.2%), peppers (85.3%) and Brussels sprouts (84.6%) are also frequently contaminated with pesticides according to the study results.
Conversely, asparagus is the most preserved food (with a frequency of contamination with at-risk residues at 2.5%). Kiwi (2.8%), cassava (3.4%), walnuts (4.4%) and broccoli (8.7%) are among the least contaminated foods.
organic eyeliner
Organic could be the answer to these annoying results. According to the study, “Organic foods are less polluted, especially due to the ban on the use of synthetic pesticides for this production method.” Thus, organic tomatoes are six times less contaminated with hazardous pesticides than tomatoes from conventional farming (one in ten organic samples is contaminated compared to nearly 6 in 10 in conventional), organic green beans seven times less and organic apples eight times less.
The Consumers Association also notes that “in the rare cases where organic matter is contaminated, levels of hazardous pesticides are also well below conventional levels. They are quantifiable only for 8% of samples, and in all other cases the substances are generally absent or present.” In the case of non-quantifiable effects.”
For the UFC-Que, it is necessary to review the current regulations on pesticides that are “outdated”. “These assays primarily take into account the maximum residue limits (MRLs) allowed by the regulations. But substances that are potentially carcinogenic, toxic to reproductive functions or endocrine disruptors, can be harmful to health even at very low doses,” the association says. That took over the National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Labor (ANSES).