Pesticides are not a danger in currants?

But no danger to health from pesticides in currants? Greenpeace rejects criticism.

(05.08.2010) Some time ago, the environmental organization presented a test series on pesticides in currants. The result, almost all blackcurrants had multiple residues of pesticides. As a result, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) reacted and reported that the redcurrants pose no danger to human health. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) also ruled out health risks in an earlier assessment.

According to the President of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Andreas Hensel, the assessments of the results of the environmental protection organization would not correspond to a scientific approach. Greenpeace would assume an unrealistic assumption that children would eat around 500 grams of redcurrants daily for a lifetime. In order to make a realistic risk assessment, not only would the residues have to be measured, but also how much a consumer would consume from the products daily. That would not have happened in the test series of Greenpeace.

No health hazards through currants?
As the BfA announced, on average children would eat no more than 2.3 grams per day of currants. Even with a single consumption of a large amount, it should be no more than 150 grams for children and 167 grams for adults. If we sum up the amount consumed, then the daily acceptable intake of proven residues of pesticides to less than one percent will be exhausted, so Hensel.

Multiple exposure to pesticides is increasing.
But the environmental organization Greenpeace contradicts this criticism. The environmentalists have been evaluating the pesticide tests for years according to the same and transparent evaluation scheme. The procedure is described in detail by environmentalists. Greenpeace never claimed that the limits were exceeded. Rather, the organization drew attention to the fact that multiple exposure to pesticides is increasing. The legal regulations on pesticide levels in foods still fail to consider these multiple burdens. According to Greenpeace, populations with weaker immune systems (such as infants, the chronically ill and the elderly) should be given greater consideration in the health assessment. The evaluation of pesticide residues in food by Greenpeace generally takes place on a comprehensive toxicological basis, which is committed to the precautionary principle.

Greenpeace bases its assessment guidelines on pesticide residues on current scientific debates. Other studies have already suggested that the combination effect of chemicals also produces different modes of action. Harmful effects of these pesticide mixes can not be excluded, even if individual substances are present in low concentrations. Greenpeace continues to assume that the same danger in the differently used "pesticide cocktails" go out. Because a few years ago only one pesticide was used as a pesticide, so nowadays sometimes up to six different pesticides are detected in currants.

Greenpeace continues to consider it legitimate to incorporate the combined effects of such cocktails into the health assessment and will shortly be releasing another study on the subject. (Sb)

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Currants not harmful to health?
Currants contaminated with pesticides

Picture: Albrecht E. Arnold