Unwanted Christmas presence: supermarket food laced with hormone disrupters13 December 2001
Government data has revealed that grapes, kiwi fruit, lemons, and milk from major supermarkets contain residues of pesticides known to affect the hormone system. Friends of the Earth is calling on retailers to prohibit the use of these pesticides on food grown in the UK and abroad. Despite supermarket claims that they are acting to reduce pesticide use, our food is still laced with toxic chemicals.
The tests, carried out between April and June 2001, showed residues of pesticides in:
- 61% of grapes
- 63% of kiwi fruit
- all lemons
- 8% of milk
- 25% of canned salmon
- 29% of breakfast cereals
- 64% of cereal bars
- 19% of noodles
None of the goats milk, honey or organic produce samples tested contained pesticide residues.
The milk tested was found to contain lindane, a pesticide due to be banned across the EU in 2002 because of health concerns. Lindane is known to affect the hormone system and has been linked with increased rates of breast cancer. Nearly half the samples of kiwi fruit contained vinclozolin - the most common pesticide found in the report - which has anti-androgenic (anti-maleness) effects. In studies, reduced sperm counts have been associated with exposure to this chemical. One of the most commonly found pesticides in grapes was iprodione and the majority (81 per cent) of lemons contained dicofol. Both these pesticides have been listed by the European Commission as having strong evidence of hormone disrupting effects. Residues of the banned pesticide DDT were also found in a quarter of the tinned salmon samples. This was probably due to environmental contamination as DDT takes a long time to break down.
Unborn babies and children are more vulnerable to hormone disrupting chemicals, and the Royal Society has stressed that exposure to these chemicals should be reduced, especially for pregnant women.
It is unacceptable to sell food containing pesticides which are potentially harmful to health. There is also cause for concern over the effect of mixtures of these pesticides. Little is known, but growing evidence suggests the impact on health is increased if we are exposed to a cocktail of similar chemicals.
"Shopping is stressful enough without having to contend with a toxic lottery on the supermarket shelves," says Sandra Bell, Pesticide Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, "Anyone who enjoyed fresh grapes with their cheese and biscuits this Christmas, canned salmon, or sliced lemon in their gin and tonics will be dismayed to find that they came laced with hormone disrupting chemicals. Consumers should expect to find safe food on the supermarket shelves. Marks and Spencer, Co-op and Waitrose are taking steps in the right direction. It's time all retailers took action to get these gender-bending chemicals out of our food"
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