A report published on Tuesday by the NGO Future Generations denounces the presence of traces of pesticides in several fruits and vegetables. Which are affected? What are the consequences on health if we consume it?
One report of the NGO Future Generations denounces the presence of pesticide residues in several fruits and vegetables that we consume on a daily basis. While most of the NGO’s studies are based on the quality of products sold in stores, this time it is based on official data from the General Directorate for the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) between 2012 and 2016: Future generations classified 19 fruits and 33 vegetables not from organic farming, according to their probable level of toxicity. 30 samples of each fruit and vegetable were studied, for a total of 11,103 samples.
Grapes, the most contaminated fruit
According to analyzes by the DGCCRF, the most polluted fruit between 2012 and 2016 was grapes: 89% of the samples contained pesticide residues. As well as clementines / mandarins (88.4%), cherries (87.7%), grapefruits (85.7%), strawberries (83%), nectarines (82.8%), oranges (80.6%), or apples (79.7%). Conversely, the least polluted fruits over this period were kiwis (27.1%) and avocados (23.1%). “For fruits, we were able to observe, on average, the presence of quantified pesticide residues in 72.6% of the samples analyzed,” says the NGO.
“The DGCCRF only communicates on averages per family of products, results which are not always representative or regular since all the foods are not monitored every year or so in too low a number, remarks François Veillerette, president of Future generations. . We have chosen to aggregate the data over five years, food by food, in order to have a larger workforce and to smooth out the vagaries of climatic conditions, for example “.
Are the fruits or vegetables most affected by the presence of pesticide residues? #SiteState #Pesticide residues # Edition2018 To find out more, download our report available online https://t.co/g6mwhK4eic pic.twitter.com/hi2pzZz5Tw
– Future Generations (@genefutures) Feb. 20, 2018
White celery, the most polluted vegetable
White celery is the most contaminated vegetable (84.6%), followed by fresh herbs (74.5%), endives (72.7%), celeriac (71.7%), lettuce ( 65.8%), peppers / peppers (60.5%), potatoes (57.9%), beans with shell (54.9%), leeks (51.5%), melons (49.7%), carrots (48.9%) or tomatoes (48.9%). The vegetables analyzed during these five years and the least polluted would be beets (4.4%), asparagus (3.2%) and corn (1.9%).
Overall, 41% of the vegetables analyzed were contaminated. On the other hand, “certain vegetables are more rustic or buried and receive less pesticides because a part remains on the leaves or on the ground, justifies François Veillerette. It is an unprecedented compilation work in France. There was a demand from consumers. : for lack of data on our territory, they turned to North American studies when the authorized active substances are not the same nor the production methods “.
“The citizen and consumer must be able to have this detailed information in order to make requests to the public authorities. ” @Villette #PressPoint #Pesticide residues #exclusivereport
– Future Generations (@genefutures) Feb. 20, 2018
What consequences for the health of consumers?
However, the NGO does not indicate the levels of pesticides found in each of the samples. It is therefore difficult to quantify the real health risks. But “the presence of pesticide residues is not in itself worrying for health since they are the subject of regulations”, assures the World Jean-Pierre Cravedi, toxicologist and research director at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA). However, “there is a risk in the case of regular or systematic consumption of a fruit or vegetable that exceeds the MRL for the same pesticide, which is unlikely”.
The deleterious effects of pesticides are well identified and regularly denounced – not enough, however, to change agricultural techniques and legislate against their use. In January 2014, more than a thousand anonymous doctors signed a platform to warn about the visible consequences of phytosanitary products: Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer, blood, congenital malformations, infertility, obesity, precocious puberty … “The impacts of industrial agriculture are numerous, from soil and water pollution, to the decline of bees and other pollinators, to the negative effects on the health of farmers, their families and consumers,” said the doctors.
Several intoxicated farmers
In 2016, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) also published a report on diseases caused by the use of pesticides. The exposure of workers to plant protection products remains largely under-documented, due to a lack of independent studies, stressed ANSES. The number of farmers exposed amounts to one million, but that is without counting the “hundreds of thousands of non-permanent workers as well as several tens of thousands of trainees”.
“Occupational health concerns relating to exposure to pesticides of people working in agriculture are taken into account in a very heterogeneous and sometimes reduced way during the initial training intended for these people”, specified ANSES. In 2015, Pourquoi Docteur had met Paul François, a farmer addicted to the pesticide in 2004. The latter had mentioned neurological problems, “tasks in the brain which evolve”, resulting in pain in the legs, hands and headaches sometimes so violent that they forced him to be hospitalized. “I thought I was good for a big migraine […] I had 12 comas in 3 months “, he explained to us.
.
