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- Children get raw deal from Government
- 2000
- Advanta admits separation distances in UK far closer than Canada
- Advanta to pay up
- Britain's babies back baby food ban
- Buy it from farmers' markets
- Buy your festive feast from local farmers
- Cadbury's admits its chocolate contains lindane
- Call for new biotech commission to halt spread of GM seeds
- Children get raw deal from Government
- Euro MPs fail GM Test
- Farm scale trials must be called off
- First UK organic beer festival held in Birmingham
- FOE responds to Prince Philip's confidence about GM foods
- Food Standards Agency could do better
- GM farm scale trial is useless
- GM farm scale trials threaten UK honey
- GM farmers pull out of trials
- GM scientist deserves sack says Friends of the Earth
- GM trials are a farce
- Government gambling with countryside
- Government in chaos over GM seeds
- Government in shambles over GM mistake
- Government prepares to decide commercial approval for GM crops before trial ends
- Government proposes to trash GM trials
- Hormone disrupting chemicals found in baby food
- Iceland to stock organic food at non-organic prices
- Illegal GM ingredients found in supermarkets
- Lindane is banned - nearly
- More GM crops set for Wales
- MPs debate new law on GM liability
- New fears over impact of GM crops on birdlife
- Public wants pesticides banned from supermarket food
- Scientists slam GM research
- Supermarket Real Food sham
- Top insurer says no to GM pollution cover
- Wales can ban GM
- Welsh agriculture secretary bottles out of Assembly decision on GM
- Aventis criticised by Government barrister
- Baby Blair greeted with hamper of Real Food
- Biosafety Protocol Agreed
- Biotech giant clams up at GM Seed List Hearing
- Call for pesticide tax
- Church advisers say no to GM crop trials
- Diners still worry about GM food
- FOE slams Krebs over organic food
- GM contamination inevitable admits Meacher
- GM food scare hits US taco lovers
- GM seed fiasco means farmers start to dig up crops
- GM-free diet for Iceland livestock
- Government GM policy in tatters
- Government set to give go-ahead to commercial licensing
- Hold on the milk says top scientist
- Kiss of death for GM seed
- Pesticides level rise in fruit AND veg
- Promising green speech from Blair?
- Shock admission that GM crops are already growing in the UK
- Supermarkets back organic farming bill
Children get raw deal from Government23 June 2000
Friends of the Earth accused the Government of giving "rotten" advice to the public about children eating food with toxic pesticide residues.
Government says that we should peel fruit and vegetables before giving them to children. FOE has said that the advice is "hopelessly misleading" and wants action by Government and retailers to ensure that our food is not contaminated in the first place.
The Government advice, issued by the Chief Medical Officer, states that "washing fruit and vegetables is always a sensible precaution to ensure it is clean. Peeling is a matter of consumer choice, but is always a sensible precaution when preparing fruit and vegetables for small children". Health Minister, Gisela Stuart, has confirmed that the advice is used by Government Departments in responding to inquiries about pesticide residues in food.
Friends of the Earth Real Food Campaigner, Sandra Bell criticises the advice: "It's just not good enough for the Government to tell us to peel our fruit and vegetables to be sure they are safe for children. The advice is ineffective - many residues survive peeling. It's shocking - the Government doesn't go out of its way to make sure consumers even know about it. Frankly, it's rotten to the core.
We want effective action to ban the most dangerous pesticides, and to reduce to a minimum all use of pesticides in farming. It's time to follow the lead of some of our European neighbours, and put the health of consumers before the interests of the agro-chemical companies."
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