The Organic Option - Centre d'agriculture biologique du Canada

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The Organic Center Critical Issue Report Page March 2008 Pesticide Dietary Risks 15 Figure 2. Percent of Total Samples with Multiple Pesticide Residues Detected: 2005-2006 PDP 35% 30% Percent of Samples with Detected Residues 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 2005 PDP 2006 PDP 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total Number of Unique Pesticide Residues Figure 2 provides an overview of the percent of samples of fruits and vegetables with one, two, or more residues as reported in the 2005 and 2006 PDP annual summaries. Note that this table includes the residues of the banned organochlorine pesticides. Apples were also tested by the PDP in 2004 and 73% of 743 samples contained three or more residues, and 25% had five or more. Seven samples had eight. Just 2% of the nonorganic apple samples had no residues, while 80% of the organic apple samples had no residues (four out of five tested). Lettuce was another crop in 2004 plagued by multiple residues – just under 36% had four or more residues, and two lettuce samples toped the “multiple residue chart” with nine residues. The five organic lettuce samples all tested clean. But the all-time record goes to conventional sweet bell peppers, last tested by PDP during 2003. Two pepper samples contained 12 different residues, and three samples had 11. Almost 22% had six or more residues. Only 3.4% had none. Eleven organic sweet bell pepper samples were tested and 91% had no residues (one positive). Fortunately, multiple residues are rare in other crops and foods. Only 1.7% of dried plums had more than one pesticide on them, as did 3.9% of eggplant. In 1993-1999, the PDP found that about 45 percent of conventional fruit and vegetable samples contained residues of two or more pesticides, while 7.1 percent of organic samples had multiple residues (Baker et al., 2002). The average conventional apple tested in this period by PDP contained residues of three different pesticides. In Consumers Union testing, 62 percent of conventional samples contained multiple residues, compared to 6 percent of organic samples.
The Organic Center Critical Issue Report Page March 2008 Pesticide Dietary Risks 16 Remarkably, the PDP tested 530 apple samples in 1996 and found that the odds of buying a bag of conventional apples with nine or more pesticide residues was as great as selecting a bag with no residues. In 2003 the odds were about the same of selecting a bag of conventional apples with seven or more residues, compared to a bag with none. In 2006 PDP testing, 34% of the nonorganic, conventional samples had multiple residues, compared to 4.2% of the organic samples (Figure 3). Accordingly, conventional fruits and vegetables are about eight-times more likely than organic samples to have multiple residues. Detailed information on the occurrence of multiple residues in different foods is reported each year in a PDP annual report appendix table entitled “Number of Pesticides Detected per Sample.” For example, Appendix K in the 2004 PDP report reports that almost 11 percent of the 12,446 samples tested contained four or more residues, while over 12 percent of the sweet bell peppers tested contained seven or more residues. Multiple Exposures Occur Daily With surprising frequency, all Americans, including infants and children, are exposed to pesticides via their diet and drinking water. According to recent USDA food consumption surveys, the average American consumes about 3.6 servings of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables daily, of which about two are fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the average piece of conventional fruit or vegetable contains about two different pesticides and/or pesticide metabolites, most children are consuming three to four residues daily just through fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of us are exposed to another two to three residues via milk, and on average, another two to three from other foods, juices, and beverages, for a total of seven to ten from food. Figure 3. 20% Sample of Foods Containing Multiple Pesticide Residues - 2006 PDP 18% Number of Unique Residues Found 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% Organic Conventional 2% 0% 2 3 4 5 6 7 Number or Unique Residues Found
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The Organic Option - Centre d'agriculture biologique du Canada

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