The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reportedly found at least 34 unapproved pesticides on cilantro samples during routine testing. According to the agency’s recently issued 2009 Pesticide Data Program report, 94 percent of the 184 samples tested in a rotating selection of produce came up positive for at least one pesticide. With no definite answers as to why the cilantro samples contained pesticide residues, government researchers have suggested that growers may have confused guidelines for cilantro with those for flat-leaf parsley, which is approved for more pesticides. Asserting that they will take follow-up action, some industry leaders are equally puzzled. “It’s something we need to look into,” Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association was quoted as saying. “We need to determine: Why this year, why this crop? What’s going on?” See Chicago Tribune, May 31, 2011.
Tag Archives pesticide
A group of physicians and scientists has written a letter to federal agencies calling for more pesticide testing on children’s favorite fruits and vegetables. Noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) typically releases latest data on pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables each January but has yet to do so this year, the May 6, 2011, letter urges officials from the USDA, EPA and FDA to “speed the release” of such data. Signed by leaders of medical schools such as Columbia University, Harvard, Mount Sinai, and Stanford, the letter warns that growing evidence shows pesticide consumption can cause lasting harm to children’s brain development. “Children are uniquely sensitive to harmful effects from pesticides,” the letter states. “Yet they eat substantial quantities of certain fresh fruits and vegetables—apples, berries, peaches, for example—proven to contain multiple pesticide residues. We urge you to expand testing programs and share ample information with the…
Canadian researchers have allegedly detected the presence of Cry1Ab toxin in human blood, raising questions about whether “pesticides associated to genetically modified [GM] foods (PAGMF)” break down during digestion as previously claimed. Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc, “Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada,” Reproductive Toxicology, 2011. The study apparently focused on 30 pregnant and 39 non-pregnant women with no direct or indirect contact with pesticides. The findings evidently showed Cry1Ab toxin—“an insecticidal protein produced by the naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis [bt]” and used in GM maize—“in 93% and 80% of maternal and fetal blood samples, respectively and in 69% of tested blood samples from non-pregnant women.” According to the study’s authors, these results suggest “(1) that these toxins may not be effectively eliminated in humans and (2) there may be a high risk of exposure through consumption…
“Forty years before it was removed from paint, pediatricians had enough evidence of lead’s ability to maim children’s brains—catastrophically and irreversibly—to warrant discussion in a medical textbook,” opines Sandra Steingraber in the March/April 2011 edition of Orion Magazine, where she posits that not only is the developing brain more vulnerable than the adult brain to social and nutritional environments, but “that neurotoxins can act in concert with each other” and “that the chemicals designed to act as neurobiological poisons—the organophosphate pesticides—truly do so.” In addition to summarizing studies on the effect of lead, arsenic, mercury, and other substances on developmental health, Steingraber highlights the latest research suggesting that organophosphate pesticides created to attack “the nervous systems of insect pests…have the same effect in humans,” interfering with “the recycling of the neurotransmitter acetycholine, one of the messaging signals that flow between neurons.” In particular, she cites studies purportedly showing that “organophosphate…
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court ruling finding that a $97 million judgment entered by a Nicaraguan court to compensate 150 Nicaraguan agricultural workers for injuries allegedly caused by workplace exposure to a pesticide is unenforceable under Florida law. Osorio v. Dow Chem. Co., No. 10-11143 (11th Cir., decided March 25, 2011). The appellate court agreed that (i) “the Nicaraguan court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and/or personal jurisdiction over the defendants”; (ii) “the foreign judgment could not be recognized in Florida because the judgment was ‘rendered under a system which does not provide . . . procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law’”; and (iii) “the Nicaraguan judgment could not be recognized under Florida law because doing so would be repugnant to Florida public policy.” The court declined to address whether Nicaragua “as a whole ‘does not provide impartial tribunals’” and also…
The Cornucopia Institute, a consumer watchdog and proponent of “family-scale farming,” has reportedly filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that an Oregon-based cereal maker is misleading consumers with its “all natural” product claims. According to the institute, Hearthside Food Solutions, which makes Peace Cereal, labels its products as “natural” and then states on its website that “natural foods are foods without pesticides or artificial additives, as well as being minimally processed and preservative-free.” Noting that the federal government has not adopted a definition of or requirements for “natural” food products, the Cornucopia Institute alleges that by using conventionally grown food ingredients, Hearthside is selling products routinely sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. Peace Cereal was apparently certified organic in the past, but has not been since 2008. Yet, according to the Cornucopia Institute, stores in several states continue to carry “organic” signs on shelves containing nonorganic Peace…
The Cornucopia Institute, a consumer watchdog and proponent of “family-scale farming,” has reportedly filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that an Oregon-based cereal maker is misleading consumers with its “all natural” product claims. According to the institute, Hearthside Food Solutions, which makes Peace Cereal, labels its products as “natural” and then states on its website that “natural foods are foods without pesticides or artificial additives, as well as being minimally processed and preservative-free.” Noting that the federal government has not adopted a definition of or requirements for “natural” food products, the Cornucopia Institute alleges that by using conventionally grown food ingredients, Hearthside is selling products routinely sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. Peace Cereal was apparently certified organic in the past, but has not been since 2008. Yet, according to the Cornucopia Institute, stores in several states continue to carry “organic” signs on shelves containing non-organic Peace…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposed rule that would declare a prion a pest under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), thereby requiring products “intended to reduce the infectivity of any prion on inanimate surfaces” to register as pesticide. According to EPA, the proposed rule would codify the agency’s current interpretation of FIFRA and implement a 2003 decision that expressly includes proteinaceous infectious particles within the regulatory definition of “pest.” “This amendment, together with the formal declaration that a prion is a pest, will eliminate any confusion about the status of prion-related products under FIFRA,” states the proposed rule, which would direct any company seeking to sell or distribute a prion pesticide in the United States to obtain “a section 3 registration, section 24(c) registration, or a section 18 emergency exemption.” EPA will accept comments on the proposed rule until March 28, 2011. See Federal…
According to a news source, Costa Rican farmers who allege they were injured by exposure to a pesticide used on Dole Food Co.’s banana plantations have been unable to obtain visas to enter the United States for medical testing. A state court ordered that the plaintiffs be tested in U.S. laboratories, apparently to avoid evidence tampering. Embassy officials have reportedly denied the visas finding that the applicants lack “sufficient ties to Costa Rica.” Plaintiffs’ counsel Mark Sparks contends that his clients are “extremely poor” and lack the indicia of residency, such as bank accounts, business records and car titles, that embassy officials have requested. Plaintiffs’ and defendants’ counsel have reportedly drafted a letter for the presiding judge to send to U.S. embassy officials to allow the Costa Rican plaintiffs to travel to Los Angeles for the limited purpose of medical testing and responding to interrogatories. At least one legal commentator…
A coalition of pesticide watchdogs and farm workers has filed a petition in a California state court seeking review of a Department of Pesticide Registration (DPR) decision to allow the use of pesticides containing methyl iodide despite evidence that the chemical is highly toxic. Pesticide Action Network N. Am. v. Cal. Dep’t of Pesticide Regulation, No. RG10553804 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda Cty., filed December 30, 2010). The chemical is allegedly used in fumigants intended to sterilize soil before planting crops such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, fruit and nut trees, grape vines, and ornamentals. The petitioners claim that breathing the chemical causes nausea, slurred speech and vomiting, permanent damage to the lungs, liver, kidneys and central nervous system, as well as fetal miscarriage. They also claim that direct contact with skin causes burns and that the chemical is listed as a known carcinogen under Proposition 65. The petition contends that exposure…
