Somerfield's pesticide record7 August 2002
Coinciding with the Government's report (see above), a new Friends of the Earth survey shows that more than half (60 per cent) of fruit and vegetables sold in Somerfield over the past four years contain pesticide residues. The results make the retail chain the worst performer out of the nine supermarkets surveyed.
Pesticides commonly found in supermarket foods include substances suspected of interfering with the hormone and nervous systems. Friends of the Earth is calling on retailers to phase out the use of the most risky pesticides. So far only Marks & Spencer and Co-op have introduced policies to phase-out particular pesticides and aim for residue free food. Both retailers have recently signed up to Friends of the Earth's toxic pledge which also requires them to phase out other risky chemicals, such as Bisphenol A (found in food can linings).
Other retailers are lagging behind, despite claims they make to their customers. Sainsbury's prints a message on its plastic bags claiming "we're committed to using natural alternatives to pesticides where possible". But nearly half (48 per cent) of its fruit and veg contains residues.
The Government must do more too. In June the Food Standards Agency agreed that action was needed to minimise pesticide residues in food and that "the ultimate aim should be to ensure that they are not to be detected at the point of sale". In order to meet this aim Friends of the Earth wants the Government to introduce strict limits for pesticides in fruit and vegetables and put more resources into helping UK growers produce residue-free food. On 1 July this year new regulations prohibited pesticides in processed baby food because infants need special protection. But the same rules do not apply to fresh food.
"There is too much hype from supermarkets about their plans to cut pesticide use, and not enough action. Only the Co-op and M&S have made a real commitment to getting pesticides out of their food. Government action is needed too. Stricter limits for pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables must be introduced and more is needed to help UK farmers produce pesticide-free food," said Friends of the Earth Pesticides Campaigner Sandra Bell.
Percentage of fruit and vegetables containing pesticide residues
Total 1998-2001
Morrisons 42
Co-op 43
Waitrose 46
Asda 48
Sainsbury 48
Tesco 48
Safeway 49
M&S 49
Somerfield 60
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