For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Food Safety Research Center page.
Baby food
There is first-ever data on three baby foods - pears, green beans and sweet potatoes. In general, the sweet potatoes and pears were pretty clean, but 9% of the green bean samples had clearly unacceptable levels of the organophosphate insecticide methamidophos. A remarkable 25% of pear baby food samples contained six or more residues, and 3.7% of the samples contained 10 residues. Not good. As always, buy organic!
Bee Killing Insecticides
Nicotinyl insecticide residues are extremely common because they are widely used and are systemic - they work by moving into the plant, including the harvested portion. In fact, about 1 in 10 of samples tested by the PDP (across ALL crops) had residues of imidacloprid (Admire), and many fresh fruit and vegetable samples contained residues of two nictoinyls. This is the family of insecticides implicated in honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder.
Drinking Water
Extensive testing was carried out on drinking water, including school wells. These data have some surprises- especially the fact that 85% of finished drinking water had residues of 2,4-D. This phenoxy herbicide is known to be a significant risk factor for a host of reproductive problems, birth defects, and cancers. It is also linked to a possible, new herbicide-tolerant, genetically engineered corn variety currently under review by the USDA and EPA.
The USDA's Pesticide Data Program (PDP) 2010 Data is Out!
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By Dr. Chuck Benbrook
Generations of Organic, June 26, 2012
Straight to the Source
