UK group urges retailers to reduce pesticide levels
Date: 15-Mar-02
Country: UK
Author: Veronica Brown
The report, by environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth, coincides with the release of government data on pesticide residues which showed that some of the chemicals in food had exceeded the safety limits set for toddlers.
The group said that while it agreed with World Health Organisation recommendations that children should consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, this would expose them to more pesticide in the name of healthy eating.
The report said that babies and children are more exposed to pesticides in food because, in proportion to their body weight, they eat a bigger proportion of food than adults.
It added that even at low levels, early exposure to hormone disrupting pesticides could lead to serious health problems.
The group said children living in agricultural areas around the world have been shown to have pesticides in their bodies and links had been found to effects such as birth defects and cancer.
"Retailers have a responsibility to sell safe food. This includes making sure it does not contain harmful pesticides. Infants need special protection from pesticide exposure - the harm done early in life can have serious health consequences later," Sandra Bell, the group's food and farming campaigner said.
"Retailers should put be putting babies and children first by removing pesticides from the food they eat," she added.
New regulations are due to be introduced by the government in July, prohibiting pesticide residues in processed baby food, but Friends of the Earth said the same restrictions should apply to fresh fruit and vegetables to cover baby food made at home.
Last year, the Co-operative Group, a major farmer and retailer, and Marks & Spencer PLC announced they were banning a range of pesticides and restricting the use of others amid fears about their impact on health and the environment.
"Now its time for supermarkets to deliver on their promises by prohibiting the use of the most risky pesticides and helping the farmers that supply them to find alternatives," Bell said.
"Retailers should come clean with their customers by publishing the results of their residue testing - so far only the Co-op and M&S have been honest enough to do this," she said.
