Popular produce from blueberries to potatoes poses a ‘very high risk’ of unhealthy pesticides linked to cancer and diabetes, a new report has revealed.
Nonprofit Consumer Reports analyzed seven years of Department of Agriculture data to identify the fruit and vegetables with the most pesticides that pose the most ‘unacceptable health risks’.
They found pesticides posed a ‘significant risk’ in a shocking 20 percent of the 59 common fruits and vegetables they studied.
Blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers were deemed very high risk while green beans, kale and watermelon were high risk – meaning pregnant women and children should limit how much they eat them.
In the studied green beans, researchers shockingly found ‘residues of a pesticide that hasn’t been allowed to be used on the vegetable in the US for over a decade.’
Nonprofit Consumer Reports analyzed seven years of Department of Agriculture data
Nonprofit Consumer Reports analyzed seven years of Department of Agriculture data
They found pesticides posed a ‘significant risk’ in a shocking 20 percent of the 59 common fruits and vegetables they studied
They found pesticides posed a ‘significant risk’ in a shocking 20 percent of the 59 common fruits and vegetables they studied
Blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers were deemed very high risk
Blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers were deemed very high risk
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Pesticides are sprayed onto crops to manage insects and weeds but they contaminate produce, it can pose a risk of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The analysis was based on 30,000 samples of 59 types of fruit and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned and organic, collected from supermarkets by the USDA.
Foods were then scored on their levels of pesticides, the corresponding health risks they posed and broken down by grown in the US and imported.
Apples, grapes, peaches, tomatoes, spinach and celery were considered moderate risk while green beans, kale and watermelon were high risk and blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers were deemed very high risk.
James E. Rogers from Consumer Reports said: ‘Consumers are being exposed to much higher levels of very dangerous pesticides than they should.’
Organic produce generally had much less pesticide residue than non-organic, but some still posed a high risk, including green beans.
Imported food posed a higher risk than homegrown.
Foods grown in Mexico posed especially high risks with some – including strawberries – containing high concentrations of oxydemeton-methyl, which is a neurotoxin that can disrupt children’s development.
Pesticides are sprayed onto fruit and vegetables during the growing process to keep bugs and weeds away, but some pesticides are harmful.
The risks posed by pesticides grow over time. Consuming contaminated food once is unlikely to cause harm, but eating them repeatedly magnifies the risk.
Pesticides are sprayed onto fruit and vegetables during the growing process to keep bugs and weeds away, but some pesticides are harmful
pesticides are sprayed onto fruit and vegetables during the growing process to keep bugs and weeds away, but some pesticides are harmful
Organic produce generally had much less pesticide residue than non-organic, but some still posed a high risk, including green beans
Organic produce generally had much less pesticide residue than non-organic, but some still posed a high risk, including green beans
Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk because some pesticides are endocrine disruptors which interfere with the reproductive system and development of key bodily systems.
Not all produce is risky, 16 of the 25 fruits and 21 of the 34 vegetables tested showed low levels of pesticide risk, meaning children and pregnant women can safely consume more than three servings a day of those foods.
According to the nonprofit’s analysis, ‘the largest risks are caused by just a few pesticides, concentrated in a handful of foods, grown on a small fraction of U.S. farmland.’
They advise that everyone ‘avoid’ consumption of high and very high risk produce and choose alternatives, it says: ‘Everyone else should limit consumption of those foods.’
Consumer Reports Senior scientist Dr Michael Hansen said: ‘We take a precautionary approach to make sure we don’t underestimate risks.’
