April 25, 2018
The NGO Générations Futures demanded on Tuesday April 24 the suspension of the use of SDHI pesticides which are found in food, after the alert launched by scientists on the potential risks of these products for humans.
Dangerous pesticides found in fruits and grains
In a column published in Release, on April 15, researchers (CNRS, INRA, Inserm) pointed out the SDHI pesticides, used according to them ” in large scale »In agriculture to destroy the molds that develop on cereals or fruits. Following these revelations, the NGO Générations Futures asked this Tuesday, April 24 for the suspension of the use of a class of fungicides found in food.
As a reminder, SDHIs are fungicides that block the respiration of molds, which leads to their death. They can be incorporated directly into the seeds or sprayed in a preventive or curative manner on cultivated plants. In France, more than 70% of wheat surfaces are treated with these chemicals. Thus, food and chemical products that we then ingest are contaminated.
Products responsible for encephalopathies or tumors of the nervous system
But, in humans, these products have terrible consequences. Thus, certain mutations of succinate dehydrogenase are responsible for diseases whose severe encephalopathies in children, tumors of the nervous system in the head, neck, or thoracic, pelvic or abdominal areas, but also kidney or digestive system cancers. Scientists have also found that succinate can accumulate, altering the structure of DNA, and therefore creating epigenetic abnormalities. The disruption of these genes can be responsible for cancers and tumors.
SDHIs are therefore present in our food. For researchers, it is necessary to carry out independent studies on these products, carried out by organizations in no way linked to industrialists in the sector. In the past, other pesticides having an impact on cellular respiration were gradually abandoned because they were considered too dangerous for humans. SDHIs were thus launched on the market, as an alternative solution, in 2009 …
Marie-Eve Wilson-Jamin
Read also: Know which foods are most contaminated with pesticides
