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EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

foodwatch.org

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Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#111

Post by tfourb »

jenadine wrote: post #108
franciscop wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know someone close who grows oranges in Spain. He has to go through hell, had to rework multiple times the fields so that they pass the strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. They get evaluated not only on the final product being pesticide free, but also on the full process being compliant, with heavy fines for non compliance. This is fine-ish, except that the imported oranges get checked only seldomly (if…

> strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. Organic labels are a different thing than official regulation though. IMHO organic labels optimize for the wrong things.

There is an official eu organic label. It’s not compulsory of course, but it’s the baseline for organic food production in and for Europe. Other (private) labels have stricter rules and are usually certified in addition to the EU label.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#113

Post by nullbio »

andrewstuart wrote: post #14

I carefully check the label and try to only buy Australian made 100% food. I never buy any food ever from China.

What's that going to help you with?

Ever been to Innisfail? Have you seen them fly small Cessna's over the banana fields and absolutely drench them with pesticides?

They do this with all the crop fields in Aus.

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#115

Post by interludead »

nozzlegear wrote: post #16

The report itself[†] blames the pesticide residue on a "boomerang effect" from EU countries: EU countries export these banned pesticides to third countries, those countries use the banned pesticides on the food they grow, and then the EU countries import that food. In effect, EU companies are still profiting off of the sale and use of banned pesticides on food that Europeans will eat. [†] https://www.foodwatch.org/fi…

It also shifts a lot of the real exposure onto farm workers and local environments outside the EU, while EU firms still capture the upside

Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#116

Post by interludead »

franciscop wrote: post #102
nozzlegear wrote: post #16

The report itself[†] blames the pesticide residue on a "boomerang effect" from EU countries: EU countries export these banned pesticides to third countries, those countries use the banned pesticides on the food they grow, and then the EU countries import that food. In effect, EU companies are still profiting off of the sale and use of banned pesticides on food that Europeans will eat. [†] https://www.foodwatch.org/fi…

I know someone close who grows oranges in Spain. He has to go through hell, had to rework multiple times the fields so that they pass the strict Spanish regulation for organic produce. They get evaluated not only on the final product being pesticide free, but also on the full process being compliant, with heavy fines for non compliance. This is fine-ish, except that the imported oranges get checked only seldomly (if…

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Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#117

Post by interludead »

culi wrote: post #53
nozzlegear wrote: post #16

The report itself[†] blames the pesticide residue on a "boomerang effect" from EU countries: EU countries export these banned pesticides to third countries, those countries use the banned pesticides on the food they grow, and then the EU countries import that food. In effect, EU companies are still profiting off of the sale and use of banned pesticides on food that Europeans will eat. [†] https://www.foodwatch.org/fi…

Unfortunately this is an all too common pattern in the history of pesticides. In 1979 DBCP was banned in the US after factory workers became sterile. Dow Chemical happily shipped tons of it to be sprayed directly on banana workers in banana republics[0] by Dole/Chiquita/Del Monte. To this day Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua have some of the highest rates of infertility, birth defects, and chron…

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Re: EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices

#118

Post by interludead »

kryptoncalm wrote: post #21

More relevant is that 14 out of 64 samples had levels above the legally allowed limit (MRL), of which 12 pesticides that are not approved in the EU (page 12 of report). This is more severe than products 'containing' pesticides, which could as well be advancements in measurement. Problematic products are: Peppers, dried (6x), Cumin (3x), Rice grain (2x), Tea leaves and stalks (1x), Non-fermented tea leaves (1x), Mix o…

The worrying part is not just that banned substances show up at trace levels, but that a non-trivial number of products were apparently over the legal limit
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