Insects are called ‘pests’ for a reason. They scare us, leave droppings in our food and also destroy crops. We dealt with this issue by inventing pesticides such as malathion and chlorpyrifos. These are sprayed onto fruit, vegetables and wheat.

HOW ARE PESTICIDES INGESTED?
Pesticides enter our bodies through the food we eat. Now, you might be thinking, “I use a fruit & veggie wash, so my produce is 100% free of these chemicals.” That’s where you’re wrong – these washes only remove most of the pesticide residue on the surface of the fruit / vegetable. Whatever residue is left is what gets ingested. Vegetables that contain the most pesticides include: strawberry, spinach and kale. So you might want to lay off the kale smoothies for now.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
When a large of concentration of pesticides is ingested over a period of time, it could lead to a wealth of health problems – difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhoea, or even death.

ARE THERE ANY PREVENTIVES?
Washing with a fruit/veggie wash is definitely a first step, though it is not enough. If you are able to buy from farmers’ markets whereby produce is not sprayed with pesticides, that would be safer for you as well.

IS THERE ANY LEGISLATION DEALING WITH THIS?
In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency has the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) which sets standards for the use of pesticides on crops. Maximum legal residue limits are set for each kind of pesticide, and samples are collected through the Pesticide Data Program. If any organisation were to be found contravening this law, the commodity will be seized. Moreover, any public fears/doubts regarding any kind of pesticide are taken into consideration when revising or implementing new laws. The stricter standards of FQPA and major improvements in science and data, and an increase in the use of safer, less toxic pesticides, has led to an overall trend of reduced risk from pesticides.

CONCLUSION
Overall, just keep in mind the preventives there are in reducing risk of pesticide poisoning, and temporarily avoid any foods that are shown to have high pesticide levels. Keeping abreast of food in the news would also be a good strategy.

– Xelyn

References
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=520&tid=92
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/03/20/pesticides-food-report-strawberries-spinach-kale-have-most/3178844002/
https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/food-and-pesticides