Highlights of EWG's 2017 "Pesticides in Produce" Report

by Chesterfield Store on

Highlights from the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2017 “Pesticides in Produce” Report

To see the full article, methodologies, etc. please visit the EWG’s site HERE

So the Enviromental working group has released their 2017 findings report relating to pesticides on our produce… Not a whole lot has changed but it is a reminder of what foods we should ALWAYS eat “organic” or try and avoid and which foods we can choose non-organic with slightly lower risk (less than 4 types of pesticide present). A snapshot of their findings re below.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DIRTY DOZEN™ FOR 2018

For the 2018 Dirty Dozen list, EWG singled out produce with the highest loads of pesticide residues. This year the list includes, in descending order, strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers.

Each of these foods tested positive for a number of different pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce.

Key findings:

  • More than 98 percent of samples of strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide.
  • A single sample of strawberries showed 20 different pesticides.
  • Spinachsamples had, on average, 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.

THE CLEAN FIFTEEN™

EWG's Clean Fifteen list of produce least likely to contain pesticide residues included avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbages, onions, frozen sweet peas, papayas, asparagus, mangoes, eggplants, honeydews, kiwis, cantaloupes, cauliflower and broccoli. Relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations of pesticide residues.

Key findings:

  • Avocados and sweet corn were the cleanest. Less than 1 percent of samples showed any detectable pesticides.
  • More than 80 percent of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbages had no pesticide residues.
  • No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen tested positive for more than four pesticides.
  • Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 5 percent of Clean Fifteen vegetable samples had two or more pesticides.

See the full list of fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue data.

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS, OR GMOS

Most processed foods typically contain one or more ingredients derived from genetically engineered crops, such as corn syrup and corn oil made from predominantly GMO starchy field corn. Yet GMO foods are not often found in the fresh produce section of American supermarkets. According to the USDA, a small percentage of zucchini, yellow squash and sweet corn is genetically modified.2 Most Hawaiian papaya is GMO.

Because federal law does not require labeling of genetically engineered produce, EWG advises people who want to avoid GMO crops to purchase organically grown sweet corn, papayas, zucchini and yellow squash. For processed foods, look for items that are certified organic or bear the Non-GMO Project Verified label. EWG recommends that consumers check EWG's Shopper's Guide to Avoiding GMO Food, Food Scores database and EWG's Healthy Living app, which can help identify foods likely to contain genetically engineered ingredients. GMO labeling is important because agribusinesses are currently testing other varieties of GMO crops, which the USDA may approve in the future.

DIRTY DOZEN PLUS™

Again this year, EWG has expanded the Dirty Dozen list to highlight hot peppers, which do not meet our traditional ranking criteria but were found to be contaminated with insecticides toxic to the human nervous system.

The USDA tests of 739 samples of hot peppers in 2010 and 2011 found residues of three highly toxic insecticides – acephate, chlorpyrifos and oxamyl – on a portion of sampled peppers at concentrations high enough to cause concern.3 These insecticides are banned on some crops but still allowed on hot peppers. In 2015, California regulators tested 72 unwashed hot peppers and found that residues of these three pesticides are still occasionally detected on the crop.4

EWG recommends that people who frequently eat hot peppers buy organic. If you cannot find or afford organic hot peppers, cook them, because pesticide levels typically diminish when food is cooked.

ARE PESTICIDE RESIDUES SAFE?

The federal Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency tighten regulation of pesticides and reduce the risks of pesticide exposure for children. The law prompted the EPA to review and restrict the use of many chemicals, including highly toxic insecticides, which affect the brain and nervous system.

Over the past two decades, many of the most toxic pesticides have been withdrawn from many agricultural uses and banned from household pesticides. Yet others, such as organophosphate insecticides, are still applied to certain crops.

Several long-term studies of American children initiated in the 1990s found that children's exposures to organophosphates – not only in farm communities but also in cities – were high enough to cause subtle but lasting damages to their brains and nervous systems.5 Children with higher concentrations of organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides in their bodies are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.

Between 2014 and 2017, EPA scientists re-evaluated the evidence suggesting organophosphate pesticides affect children’s brain and behavior. The EPA concluded that ongoing use of one pesticide, chlorpyrifos, was not safe and proposed to ban the chemical. However, shortly after taking office, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt cancelled the scheduled chlorpyrifos ban and announced that the agency would not finish its safety assessment for chlorpyrifos until 2022.

A group of recent studies suggest an association between consumption of fruits and vegetables with higher pesticide residues and fertility issues. The Harvard EARTH study found that men and women who reported more frequent consumption of high-residue produce had fertility problems.1,6 At the same time, the amount of lower pesticide residue fruits and vegetables in their diets was not associated with negative effects. The researchers have also detected similar fertility impacts in younger men.

Participants in the Rochester Young Men’s Study who reported eating three or more servings of produce with low-to-moderate pesticides had about a 70 percent increase in sperm count and concentration compared to men who ate one or fewer servings daily.7 In contrast to the EARTH study, self-reported consumption of higher-pesticide-residue foods was not associated with poorer sperm quality.

It takes many years and extensive resources to design studies that test the effects of dietary exposures to pesticides. The long-term studies of organophosphate pesticides on children’s brains and behavior took more than a decade to complete. Yet they provided a unique chance for scientists to study the safety of real world exposures in children, and account for their simultaneous exposure to other pollutants that are widely detected in Americans’ bodies.

The result was evidence that the human brain is many times more sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of organophosphate chemicals than those of laboratory animals, a finding that upended the EPA’s traditional approach to assessing pesticide safety. The three fertility studies confirm the need to carefully examine the effects of dietary exposure to pesticide mixtures on reproductive health.

HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID PESTICIDES

People who eat organic produce eat fewer pesticides. A 2015 study by scientists at the University of Washington found that people who report they often or always buy organic produce had significantly lower quantities of organophosphate insecticides in their urine samples. This was true even though they reported eating 70 percent more servings of fruits and vegetables per day than adults who reported they rarely or never purchase organic produce.8

The fertility studies demonstrate potentially subtle but important impacts of eating lower-pesticide-residue produce. These studies define low- and high-residue foods in a method similar to EWG’s guide. They utilize the same data source, the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, and create a crop-level residue index that largely overlap with EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists. The researchers found that people’s self-reported dietary habits correspond to pesticide measurements in their bodies. Male EARTH study participants who reported the highest consumption of high-residue crops had higher concentrations of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, and the herbicide 2,4-D in their urine relative to participants who eat these foods less often.9

FERTILITY STUDIES' CLASSIFICATION OF PESTICIDE RESIDUES

High pesticide residue score

Apples, apple sauces, blueberries, grapes, greenbeans, leafy greens, pears, peaches, potatoes, plums, spinach, strawberries, raisins, sweet peppers, tomatoes, winter squashes

Low to moderate pesticide residue score

Apple juice, avocados, bananas, beans, broccoli, cabbages, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, eggplants, grapefruits, lentils, lettuce, onions, oranges, orange juices, peas, prunes, summer squashes, sweet potatoes, tofu, tomato sauces, zucchini

In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued an important report that said children have "unique susceptibilities to [pesticide residues'] potential toxicity." The organization cited research that linked pesticide exposures in early life to pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function and behavioral problems. It advised its members to urge parents to consult "reliable resources that provide information on the relative pesticide content of various fruits and vegetables." A key resource cited was EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce10

 

To see the full article, methodologies, etc. please visit the EWG’s site HERE

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