Food Safety
Pesticide Residue Rankings: Apples and Celery Worst, Onions and Corn Best
They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the nutritious, fiber-rich fruit has again earned the number one spot in the Environmental Working Group’s annual “Dirty Dozen,” a report that lists the fruits and vegetables most often carrying pesticide residues. On the other end of the spectrum, onions have again topped the group’s “Clean 15″ report.
Celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries follow in the “Dirty Dozen” report, while sweet corn, pineapples and avocados are the next highest ranked among the “Clean 15.”
Both rankings appear in EWG’s 8th annual “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce” released today.
The ranking system is based on the group’s analysis of more than than 60,700 samples taken from 2000 to 2010 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The consumer guide, however, does not include the pesticide contamination levels, nearly all of which were found to be below federal tolerance thresholds.
Most toxicology experts, nutritionists, and federal health officials agree that the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of low level pesticide exposure.
When USDA released the most recent round of its pesticide testing data last month, the Agriculture Marketing Service said the findings confirmed that “food does not pose a safety concern based upon pesticide residues.”
Pesticide Residue Common In Fruits, Veggies and Baby Food
Apples, peaches, nectarine and grapes are on “The Dirty Dozen” list of produce with high levels of pesticide residue, while cabbage, corn and sweet potatoes make the “Clean Fifteen” list with low levels, according to the eighth annual Shoppers Guide To Pesticides In Produce, published today by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
“Our shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce gives consumers easy, affordable ways to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while avoiding most of the bug killers, fungicides and other chemicals in produce and other foods,” EWG president Ken Cook said in a statement.
To compile the guide, EWG researchers looked at ten years of data from annual U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pesticide residue tests conducted between 2000 and 2010. The produce samples were washed or peeled prior to testing so the rankings would reflect the level of chemicals present food when is it eaten.
In 2010, 68 percent food samples studied had detectable amounts of pesticide residue. Other findings include:
Indiana Holding ‘Virtual Public Hearing’ on Raw Milk Sales
Bill Proposes Tougher Enforcement for Organic Label
Senate Farm Bill ‘Vote-o-rama’ Rejects Catfish Inspection Program
Few food safety measures among Senate’s 73 farm bill amendments
The Senate was hard at work Tuesday considering dozens of farm bill amendments in an hours-long “vote-o-rama” that included repealing a 2008 farm bill provision to create a catfish inspection program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Unless the House decides that the program — which the Government Accountability Office has deemed duplicative and an inefficient use of resources — deserves saving, this special office within the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will likely not be created.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) spoke on the floor in support of the amendment, which was introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Kerry said the program was wasteful and should never have been included in the last farm bill.
“This would be entirely duplicative, a waste of time, hurt consumers, and hurt processors,” he said, adding that there would be no food safety benefit from the program.
Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas, a catfish-producing state, offered “the other side of the story.”
“It’s important that we inspect these fish as they come in because they aren’t grown in the same sanitary conditions as we have in the United States,” said Pryor. “They use different herbicides and pesticides and they have different pollutants. In fact we’ve seen documented cases where they’ve been raised in sewage water, water contaminated with sewage.”
According to the GAO, the USDA’s inspection program would have focused on Salmonella, not chemical or drug residues.
The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Doctors Promote Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Drinks
Sugary drinks were again the target of anti-obesity efforts this week as the American Medical Association threw its support behind a tax on these beverages.
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Recalls
Hannaford Supermarkets Recall Cookies for Undeclared Egg
Hannaford Supermarkets is recalling Mini Frosted Cookies that contain egg but do not declare that ingredient on the label.
Product details:
- Mini Frosted Cookies
Anyone with an allergy or sensitivity to eggs who purchased this product can return it to the store for a full refund.
NY Firm Recalls Improperly Produced Fish
A New York City-based company is recalling dried bream fish imported from Russia because the fish was processed in a way that puts it at risk for Clostridium botulinum contamination.
Botulism – the illness caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria – can lead to paralysis and in some cases death.
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Articles of Interest
Lawsuit Filed in Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Unpasteurized Tempeh
The first lawsuit has been filed against the North Carolina tempeh producer and the online spore culture retailer responsible for a Salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 89 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and New York earlier this year.
Top Level Biosecurity Lab to Move to Kansas If Approved
Government faces hitch in moving Plum Island, NY facility to Manhattan, KS
Good News For World Chicken Flock
Traveling Abroad? Be Careful What You Bring Back
The USDA is reminding overseas travelers that they should be careful when bringing products back into the United States. Many invasive species have hitched a ride on agricultural products. Then they can wreak havoc on native plants. You must declare all agricultural items to Customs and Border Protection Officers at customs.
This is a general list of the items that are you are allowed to bring into the country, but should still be declared:
- Condiments
- Oil
- Vinegar
- Mustard
- Catsup
- Pickles
- Syrup
- Honey (without honey combs)
- Jelly
- Jam
- Bakery items
- Candy
- Chocolate
- Hard cured cheeses without meat
- Canned goods
- Vacuum packed jars (other than those with meat, poultry products, and certain dairy products)
- Fish or fish products
- Powdered drinks sealed in original containers
- Dry mixes that are commercially labeled, such as baking mixes, potato flakes, cocoa mixes, drink mixes, and infant formula.
Depending on the country of origin, you may be able to bring back:
- Some fresh fruits and vegetables
- Animal products and by-products
- Plants and plant parts for planting
- Cut flowers
- Firewood
- Miscellaneous agricultural products
New Antitoxin Targets Many Pathogens
Advocates Launch New Campaign to Combat Antibiotics in Ag
Poll finds most consumers want antibiotic-free meat at the grocery store
Advocacy groups are ramping up their push to reduce antibiotics in meat production with a new consumer campaign and another lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Consumer Reports released a new poll Wednesday that found that 86 percent of consumers think meat raised without antibiotics should be available in their local grocery store. More than 60 percent of those polled said they would be willing to pay at least five cents more and 37 percent said they would be willing to pay a dollar or more extra per pound for antibiotic-free meat. The 1,000 person poll has a margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
The group released their findings along with a report on the “overuse” of antibiotics in animal agriculture and announced a new “Meat Without Drugs” campaign to pressure retailers into selling antibiotic-free meats.
The Natural Resources Defense Council also sued FDA again this week — the group has been part of multiple lawsuits and has two recent court victories — seeking access to agency risk assessments documents that looked at the human health risk posed by antibiotics in animal feed. NRDC said it is suing FDA after it “failed to respond in a timely fashion to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”
Public health advocates have been frustrated by what they believe is too slow a response to an urgent public health threat. Around 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States each year are given to food animals to boost growth as well as treat and prevent disease and scientists have long known that all antibiotic use, whether in medicine or agriculture, fuels antibiotic resistance, which can make diseases harder to treat.County Approves Food Code after Testimony from Young E. coli Victim
Jacob Goswick, 13, helps persuade officials to update food standards
When Arizona’s Yavapai County Board of Supervisors were first asked to consider approving the 2009 FDA Food Code on June 4, two of the three board members spoke strongly against it. They characterized the code, which introduced five new regulations for the food industry, as an example of overreaching government control.
One rule in particular — a provision requiring that children’s menu hamburgers be cooked well-done — received targeted criticism. Board member Carol Springer said that the government shouldn’t decide what a parent orders for a child.
“Do we have a lot of kids getting sick in Yavapai County from eating rare hamburgers?” asked board member Chip Davis.
County health officials said they could not say for certain, as the majority of foodborne illnesses go unreported.
But they did know of one county resident with a compelling food poisoning story: 13-year-old Jacob Goswick, a Prescott, AZ resident who fell seriously ill with E. coli O157:H7 in the 2006 bagged spinach outbreak at the age of 8.
Along with his mother, Juliana, Jacob spoke before the board at its June 19 meeting to share his experience of being hospitalized at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for two months, a time that included one month on dialysis due to complete kidney failure, he said.
No Need for Labeling, Just Test GMOs First, Says AMA
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