Archived press release

Pesticides banned in baby food - but still in fruit and veg

1 July 2002

The new rules set the permitted level of any pesticide in processed baby foods at the minimum detectable level. Manufacturers therefore now face legal action if pesticides are discovered. But these rules don’t apply to the fresh fruit and veg which the Government encourages young children to eat as part of a healthy diet. The first solid food for one baby in every five is pureed fresh fruit and vegetables, yet the fruit most commonly eaten by toddlers (e.g. apples, pears and bananas) have been found in recent Government tests to contain a cocktail of risky pesticides (see box below). Some scientists advise that pregnant women should reduce their exposure to pesticides as chemicals in the womb may damage the child later in life.

Friends of the Earth is calling on retailers to phase-out the use of pesticides that are causing most concern and aim for residue-free food - starting with foods most popular with infants and young children. The Government must also do more to help UK farmers produce pesticide-free food. Last month the Food Standards Agency’s Board agreed "that the Agency should pursue a strategy to encourage ways of improving the use of pesticides so that residues are minimised. The ultimate aim should be to ensure that they are not to be detected at the point of sale."

Until fresh fruit and vegetables are residue-free Friends of the Earth recommends that parents

• Buy organic when it is possible and affordable
• Peel fruit and vegetables for babies and young children. This reduces residues but does not remove them all.

Sandra Bell, pesticide campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
“This new law recognises that young children need special protection from pesticide residues. But babies and infants will still be exposed to pesticides when they eat fresh fruit and vegetables, which are regularly found to contain traces of these chemicals. The Government must acknowledge the problem, extend this protection to fresh food, and help farmers find safer ways of protecting their crops. Supermarkets also have a vital role to play by eliminating pesticide residues from the food they sell.”

Pesticide facts

• Last time fruit-based infant processed food was tested by the Government 6 of the 66 samples contained pesticide residues [2].
• The first solid food for one baby in every five is pureed fresh fruit and vegetables. And by 18 months old only four per cent of children are still eating processed baby foods [3].
• Much of the fruit sold in supermarkets contains pesticide residues. In 2000, for example, 72% of supermarket apples and 71% of pears contained pesticide residues [4].

Apples and Pears

One third (33%) of all pears and 16% of apples tested in 2000 contained carbendazim. In laboratory studies carbendazim has been shown to disrupt sperm production.

About a third (35%) of apples tested in 2000 contained chlorpyrifos. The use of this organophosphate pesticide has been severely restricted in the US to protect children’s health but no such action has been taken in the UK. In laboratory studies chlorpyrifos has been linked with brain damage in young rats. Some scientists believe that exposure to organophosphates at a young age can lead to behavioural problems in children.

Multiple residues were found in nearly half (48%) of the pears tested. A recent report commissioned by the Food Standards Agency confirmed that we do not know enough about the possible affects of being exposed to mixtures of pesticides, the so called ‘cocktail effect’.

Bananas

Despite the popularity of bananas with young children they have not been tested by the Government since 1997. Then 45 out of 50 of the banana samples contained residues [5]. One of the pesticides found most commonly was imazalil which is described the US Environmental Protection Agency as being “Likely to be carcinogenic in humans.”

Notes

[1] Commission Directive 1999/39/EC states that “there are at present doubts as to the adequacy of existing acceptable daily intake values (ADIs) for the protection of infants and young children.” The Directive goes on to say that it is “appropriate to adopt a very low common limit for all pesticides pending case-by-case scientific screening and evaluation of substances”.

[3] National Diet Survey and Mills & Tyler (1992) Food and Nutrient intakes of British infants aged 6-12 months (1992) HMSO.

[2] [4] [5] All data from the quarterly reports of the Pesticide Residue Committee for 2000, except bananas from Annual Report of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues 1997.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust