 (NaturalNews) In a recent report, the Pesticide Residues Committee said that 1.7 percent of 3,787 food items tested in the U.K. exceeded the legal limits for pesticide content, and 30.2 percent contained traces within the legal limits. This number is up a third over the previous year, partly due to the committee testing more exotic foods.
The items tested included fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, cereal products, tea, olive oil, fruit juice and infant foods. No pesticide residues were found in chicken, eggs, infant formula, kidneys, milk or rutabagas.
The excessive levels of pesticides were present in produce set aside for schools' "Five a Day" program, which encourages the consumption of fruits and vegetables by making them readily available at no cost to some students. The committee tested 166 samples earmarked for the program, and found 132 contained chemical traces at or below the legal maximum, and three samples exceeded the limits.
The official stance of the committee is that the pesticide levels are not a concern to public health.
"I cannot overemphasize the importance of continuing to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day," said committee chairman Dr. Ian Brown. "The health benefits far outweigh any concern about pesticide residues."
David Coggon, professor of occupational and environmental health from Southampton University, supported this notion, pointing out that the report's analytical techniques can detect pesticides even at very low levels.
"At very low levels they are not a concern to health," he said. "We are all exposed to chemicals in the environment every day, but whether they are toxic or not is down to the level of the dose."
Many in the health community disagree with this assessment, however. Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, called the committee "extraordinarily complacent and unscientific," especially in regards to the levels of pesticides in products allocated to schools.
Mike Adams, consumer health advocate and author of "Grocery Warning," agreed.
"There is no such thing as a 'safe' level of a toxic pesticide chemical," Adams said. "Any level of pesticide residue is a threat to human health, and with most consumers now showing hundreds of different chemicals in their livers, hearts and brains, the cumulative health consequences are potentially horrifying.
"No one has tested these chemicals in combination. Consumers around the world are being used as guinea pigs in a grand food experiment to see what happens when you poison an entire civilization with synthetic chemicals."
###
Related Articles
• Kraft sells avocado-free guacamole dip product made with hydrogenated oils
• Many "healthy" and vegetarian foods contain MSG in the form of yeast extract
• Opinion: Ensure is primarily sugar water, marketed with misleading statements that deceive consumers
• Poor nutrition, junk foods lead directly to pharmaceutical industry profits
• Feeding everyday groceries to pets is animal cruelty
 |
Additional Resources:
grocery warning
food supply
toxic chemicals
|
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
 Email this article to a friend
 Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020565.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
 Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
 Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
Printable Version
