Pesticide Residues in Food Why we should be worried Parker Stevens Pesticides Pesticides include herbicides fungicides insecticides etc Pesticides must be approved for use by the EPA which establishes a tolerance level maximum amount of residue allowed on raw foods EPA FDA USDA enforce tolerance levels The Effects Abamectin Chlorpyrifos Endosulfan Methidathion Acute chronic toxicity reproductive developmental toxin Highly toxic to insects fish Cholinesterase inhibitor suspected endocrine disrupter Moderately toxic to humans affecting central nervous system cardiovascular system respiratory system Highly toxic to birds fish and is moderately persistent in soils 2 weeks to 1 year Acute chronic toxicity Mutagenic Acute chronic toxicity reproductive toxin cholinesterase inhibitor Restricted use pesticide Carcinogenic Vinclozolin Carcinogenic developmental reproductive toxin suspected endocrine disrupter Delany Clause Amendment to the FD C Act established that no food or color additive could be deemed safe or given FDA approval if found to cause cancer in humans or animals yet many pesticides are proven carcinogens and their residues are allowed on food products Conflicting Information Data From FDA Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program 2003 http www cfsan fda gov dms pes03rep html USDA Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary 2005 http www ams usda gov science pdp Summary2005 pdf Residues in the EU IRELAND Study measuring pesticide residues in domestic imported foods found residues in 53 of fruit vegetable samples with 3 4 above MRLs and no residues in grains grain products FDA 33 7 in fruits vegetables with 4 8 violative 17 7 in grains USDA 71 in fruits vegetables 49 in grains Changes over time 1996 Food Quality Protection Act Major requirements include stricter safety standards especially for infants and children and a complete reassessment of all existing pesticide tolerances Fresh vs Processed USDA study showed residues on Green beans 92 fresh vs 78 processed Oranges 90 fresh vs 58 processed Plums 74 fresh vs 13 processed In plums they found fludioxonil 20 6 iprodione 39 6 and phosmet 19 4 on fresh samples but none of these on dried samples Residues in Meat 1979 study sponsored by the FAO WHO measured levels of chlorpyrifos methyl and its predominant metabolite 3 5 6 trichloro 2pyridinol in various animal tissues Found that the parent pesticide chlorpyrifos methyl concentrates primarily in the fat and to a lesser extent in the kidney The metabolite pyridinol concentrates primarily in the liver and kidney With chickens the pesticide was more concentrated in the egg than other tissues Pesticides in the Body CDC Exposure Report Heptachlor Carcinogen acutely toxic developmental toxin On ATDSR s list of most hazardous substances ranked 33 after arsenic lead cyanide DDT and dieldrin Hexachlorocyclohexane Carcinogen suspected endocrine disrupter 116 on ATDSR s list of most hazardous substances Chlordane Carcinogen suspected endocrine disrupter 3 5 6 Trichloro 2 pyridinol metabolite of chlorpyrifos chlorpyrifos methyl Chlorpyrifos is 125 on ATDSR s list tied with plutonium What we can t regulate Ethylene Dibromide Acute toxicity Carcinogin Developmental reproductive toxin Possibly an endocrine disrupter Considered highly toxic by the EPA Tolerance revoked in US but used abroad TCA Acute toxicity Tolerance revoked in US but used abroad Merphos Cholinesterase inhibitor Tolerance revoked in US but used abroad Persistent Pesticides DDT Prohibited in the US since 1972 Residues of DDT metabolites detected in 1 2 of fruit vegetable samples Dieldrin Prohibited in the US since 1978 Found in 33 1 heavy cream samples 23 2 milk samples and 6 6 squash samples Both known carcinogens Peaches Generally 1 of the residues detected on fruits vegetables violate EPA tolerance levels BUT residues below tolerance levels are not necessarily safe Reference dose RfD is an estimate of a safe daily intake of a particular pesticide Does not account for the higher vulnerability in children Consumers Union of the US INC 1999 For example the average methyl parathion residue on U S peaches tested in 1994 96 was 0 055 parts per million At that concentration a 100gram peach would contain 5 5 micrograms of methyl parathion The current EPA RfD for methyl parathion is 0 00002 mg kg day or 0 02 ug kg day since 1 mg 1 000 ug That means a 20 kg 44 pound child should not consume more than 0 4 micrograms per day of this insecticide Eating just one medium sized peach with an average methyl parathion residue though would give that 20 kg child a dose of this intensely neurotoxic insecticide almost 14 times higher than the RfD In fact even the lowest methyl parathion residue found on peaches in 1996 the most recent year tested 0 004 ppm would still deliver a Reference Dose of the insecticide to a 20 kilogram child who ate a 100 gram peach Methyl parathion was found on 41 percent of U S peaches in 1996 This means roughly two of every five children who eat a U S peach will exceed the RfD for methyl parathion by eating that single food item The maximum methyl parathion level the PDP found on peaches in 1996 0 5 ppm would deliver 125 times the RfD and the highest 10 percent of residues all exceed 35 times the RfD 2 Pesticides in the news BBC Up to 220 young children a day may be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of pesticides just by eating an apple or a pear Safety levels are not necessarily met even when legal standards are Concerns are for long term effects particularly in children California A pesticide program aimed at crippling a crop destroying moth was set to resume this week on the Monterey Peninsula prompting dozens of families to leave town amid concerns that the chemical mist could cause respiratory problems Science Daily The breakdown products of the three most commonly used organophosphorus pesticides in California s agricultural Central Valley chlorpyrifos malathion and diazinon are 10 100 times more toxic to amphibians than their parent compounds which are already highly toxic to amphibians Parent pesticides breakdown products are cholinesterase inhibitors Sources USDA Pesticide Data Program http www ams usda gov science pdp Summary2005 pdf FDA Pesticide Program Residue Monitoring http www cfsan fda gov dms pes03rep html Pesticide Chemical Databases http www cfsan fda gov acrobat pestglos pdf http www access gpo gov nara cfr waisidx 04 40cfr180 04 html http www pesticideinfo org Search Chemicals jsp http www