Have you ever wondered whether the food you eat is safe? Do you know if the food items sold use organic materials to prevent pests from eating them? One of the growing concerns of companies into the fresh produce business is the pests and insects eating out their fruits and vegetable products before they can harvest.
As a result, they use pesticides to prevent insects from destroying their products. However, it was discovered that these pesticides have residue that sticks to their products, making it harmful to eat.
The good news is many food industry establishments are performing pesticide residue analysis to ensure that the food delivered and eaten by individuals are safe.
In the research conducted earlier this year by the USDA and the Environmental Working Group (EWG), around 70% of fresh produce produced in the U.S. contains pesticide residue after the fresh fruits and vegetables were washed and peeled.
What is surprising is that the product that was recognized to be the most contaminated is not a piece of fresh fruit, but a dried one. In the said study, 99% of non-organic raisin samples contained at least two pesticides.
Least and Most Contaminated Products
According to the pesticide residue analysis, other produce that topped the list were strawberries, apples, nectarines, and cherries. At least 90% of the samples of these fruits were also contaminated with at least two pesticides.
Excluding raisins, the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue detected are strawberries, kale, spinach, apples, nectarines, peaches, grapes, pears, cherries, celery, tomatoes, and potatoes. These 12, which EWG calls the ‘Dirty Dozen,’ are among 47 fruits and vegetables that the USDA tested this year.
Ranking third in the list is the popularly healthy kale, which alarmingly showed 18 different pesticides in several samples. It was a surprise as it is commonly advertised as a healthy addition to some meals.
Both kale and spinach had about 1.1 to 1.8 times more pesticide residue than any other crop when compared by weight. EWG also rated the fruits and vegetables that ranked the lowest in the conducted pesticide residue analysis. Avocados and sweet corn top the list, with less than two percent of samples having any pesticide residue.
Following avocados and sweet corn are pineapples, papaya, onions, eggplants, sweet peas, asparagus, cantaloupes, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, honeydew melons, and kiwis.
Seventy percent of the samples for these 15, which EWG calls the ‘Clean Fifteen,’ yielded negative results after pesticide residue analysis. Unlike the Dirty Dozen, only seven percent of the Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples contained multiple pesticide residues.
Researchers from Harvard University have performed a related analysis and largely revealed comparable findings.
Pesticide Residue Analysis in Raisins
In the United States, children 15 years old and below consume about 208 million pounds of raisins per year, constituting about 50% of the country’s total consumption.
As a typical snack for children, this is extremely alarming, especially since most of the pesticides detected in raisins could harm the brain and reproductive system, which are still developing in children.
Some of those that yielded positive results in the pesticide residue analysis are two types of neonicotinoids, which are popularly known as bee-killing pesticides but are also known to endanger the development of the human brain.
Bifenthrin and tebuconazole, which are closely associated with cancer and known to damage the nervous system, were also present in raisins. Tebuconazole is also often linked to problems with the reproductive system.
The researchers also found chlorpyrifos, which is another harmful compound associated with brain damage.
Pesticide Residue and One’s Health
Even as children, the practice of consuming fruits and vegetables has been well-instilled. But what teachers probably did not tell you is the difference between conventional and organic produce. Pesticide-free items are marketed as organic produce, which can obviously be more beneficial to one’s health.
In a comparative study conducted by researchers in Australia, clinical trials showed that switching from conventionally grown to organic produce reflected in pesticide residue analyses of the urine.
A significant decrease in the urinary pesticide concentrations—a scientifically recognized marker of pesticide exposure—of samples from participants was seen after the change in diet.
In other studies, organic food consumption was similarly linked to decreased urinary pesticide concentrations, improved fertility, successful pregnancies, reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and more desirable BMIs.
However, since most people who opt for organic food are generally health-conscious, it was not clear whether the positive outcomes were directly related to or caused by the consumption of organic foods.
While conventional produce is more affordable, at the end of the day, it is health that people need to prioritize.