Currants contaminated with pesticides

Greenpeace: Currants from Germany are contaminated with numerous pesticides.

(26.07.2010) The environmental organization "Greenpeace" tested currants from German cultivation. The result is frightening: all currants from the country of origin Germany were contaminated with pesticides. The only exception was the organic currants, there were no residues of pesticides.

Eat some healthy fruit for summer, many people think so and resort to currants in German supermarkets. But "Greenpeace" is currently warning against eating these fruits. Because a test has revealed that most redcurrants have a high proportion of pesticides. Research in the laboratory would have shown that in the berries even a veritable mix of up to nine different pesticides could be detected. Only the organic berries were free from such chemical crop protection substances.

Test in all parts of Germany.
The berries were tested early July 2010 in several cities in Germany. The environmentalists focused on supermarkets such as Edeka, Aldi, Metro, REal, Penny and Rewe. A total of 31 samples of currants and raspberries were examined. All berries came from German cultivation, preferably from the state of Baden-Württemberg.

According to Greenpeace, residues from six crop protection products were detected on average in each sample analyzed. In some cases traces of illegal pesticides were detected. For this reason, they have also informed the authorities, so that they could respond immediately. According to Greenpeace, the chemical substances "Dodin" and "Difenoconazole" were found in individual samples. The samples came from the supermarket chains Edeka and Tengelmann. Within the EU, these sprays are prohibited.

Residues of pesticides can damage your health.
The effect of these plant protection products could be classified as "hazardous to health". According to Greenpeace, both pesticides are not approved in the German market. Some of the proven substances can damage the human nervous system or have a carcinogenic effect on the human organism. Hormone balance and reproduction could also be affected.

Mix of pesticides.
Although the limit of the authorized quantities of pesticides would not be exceeded, multiple exposure would pose a health risk to humans. So a spokesman said, not the amount is crucial, but the sum of the different pesticides. According to Greenpeace's environmental experts, a trend towards "pesticide mixtures" has been apparent for several years. Although the manufacturers comply with the prescribed limits, pesticides are used in combination. Greenpeace therefore calls for a limit value for multiple pesticide residues to be set. This must be done to protect the health of consumers. Because in a test 4 years ago, there were on average three pesticides per berry, now there are already six.

Dear organic products without chemicals.
Heilpraxisnet.de advises, however, to immediately refrain from conventional products and prefer to resort to organic goods. "At least here, under normal circumstances, it is ensured that there are no residues of pesticides". This was also the result of the test by Greenpeace. In no organic samples of the berries were residues of pesticides detectable. "Later, it is hardly detectable, as a cancer or a nerve disease has emerged, hardly anyone will blame the consumption of berries".

Raspberries almost unloaded
The only positive thing was that raspberries were often found to have no great pesticide residues. The raspberries had been contaminated on average with two different crop protection products. The values ​​were also below the legal limits. 29 percent of the raspberries were even free of pesticides. (Sb)

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Image: Barbara Eckholdt