If you are one of those people who carefully reads food labels in the supermarket as if they were in the library and you are concerned about the composition and processing of everything you put into your body, you will be interested in the latest report from the European Agency for Food Safety (EFSA) that is disseminating the OCU. It is a document on pesticide residues in food in which they are collected the results of official controls carried out in the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway And what it reveals will surprise you.
Competent food authorities routinely analyse, the presence of pesticide residues in food. The objective is that the results are used, later, to design programs focused on reducing risks and making decisions related to the use of pesticides.
Latest latest report has been developed after analyzing more than 87,860 samples in the European Union, focusing the European Coordinated Control Program (PCPA EU) on the random analysis of samples of 12 specific products: aubergines, bananas, broccoli, cultivated mushrooms, grapefruit, melons, sweet peppers, table grapes, virgin olive oil, wheat, bovine fat and chicken eggs.
On the positive side, in 96.1% of samplesthe remains of pesticides were found within limits. In fact, 55% of them had no detectable amounts. Of course, in the In the remaining 3.9%, pesticide residues exceeded the limit established by legislation.
On the downside, the study found that the pesticides with the highest non-compliance rate turned out to be ethylene oxide (6.6% of samples above the limit), whose use is not authorized in the European Uniondiothiocarbamates (1.2%) and copper compounds (1%).
Foods with more and less pesticides
Regarding the foods that presented more pesticide residues, it is worth highlighting bananas, sweet pepper and mushrooms grown with pesticides, but especially imported grapefruits outside the European Union (9.92%).
On the other hand, those that contain the least pesticides, according to this analysis, are the chicken eggs (none had pesticide residues), bovine fat and virgin olive oilas well as broccoli.
However, do not panic because EFSA has carried out a risk assessment concluding that the probability of endangering the health of consumers due to exposure to pesticides is low. In addition, by comparing the results of this campaign with those of the previous one, it has been possible to verify that the situation has improved and that there are a decrease in the percentage of samples that exceed the limit permitted.
However, the OCU has given some advice that can help us reduce the intake of pesticides.
How to reduce pesticide intake
The most effective way to avoid ingesting pesticides is peel fruits and vegetables, although it is true that in this way you also eliminate a good part of the fiber, minerals and vitamins. In the case of leafy vegetables, it is also advisable not to consume the outer leaves.
Remember wash the fruit and vegetables with water for more than a minute, preferably with lukewarm water. If you do it in a saucepan, add a little bicarbonate of soda and rinse at the end.
In the case of lettuce, chard and spinach, wash them leaf by leaf with cold water. Use kitchen paper to dry them, in this way we will drag any pesticides that may still remain on the surface.
Another good habit is to choose seasonal piecessince they contain fewer substances added after harvest to improve conservation In general, the ecological agriculture It is an interesting alternative, but check that it bears the stamp that guarantees its origin. Although you have to wash them anyway.
Cover photo | Nathan Dumlao
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