Organic food campaigners have accused New Zealand’s food safety body of understating the significance of pesticide residues in the country’s food supply.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) claimed that tests on locally produced food found that it presents “no chemical residue food safety concerns”.
However, the Soil & Health Association of NZ and Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand (PAN) highlighted what they claimed were methodological weaknesses in the NZFSA’s studies.
“The method of reporting of pesticide residues detected in the Total Diet Study (TDS) hides the fact that most composite regional food samples contained pesticide residues, with several having significant multiple residues,” said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning.
“Analysis of the Food Residue Surveillance Programme results for celery and spinach, showed 100% of the celery samples, and 75% of the spinach samples contained pesticide residues, with many samples containing multiple residues,” he continued.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataMeanwhile, Dr Meriel Watts of PAN insisted that the Total Produce Survey failed to give New Zealand produce a “clean bill of health”.
“Tucked away at the back of the document are tables showing that almost all products made with grains such as wheat contains residues of the neurotoxic organophosphate insecticide pirimphos-methyl; and the majority of fruit and vegetables contain dithiocarbmate insecticides,” she siad.
“It has become very clear that New Zealand simply has to stop using these particular pesticides if we are very going to stop the residue problem,” Dr Watts insisted.
Dithiocarbamate fungicides and chlorothalonil are on the Pesticide Action Network International list of highly hazardous pesticides for global phase out.
According to the campaign groups, dithiocarbomate fungicides are severe central nervous system toxicant, carcinogen, and endocrine disruptors; they also cause sterility and birth defects, also affecting liver, kidney and respiratory and cardiac, systems.
Chlorothalonil is carcinogenic, mutagenic and an environmental toxin and it is thought responsible for aggravating the health effects of other pesticides, the organics groups said.
“Considering that dieldrin was banned in agriculture in New Zealand in 1968, and from other uses in 1989, the commonly used fungicide Bravo (chlorothalonil) as found in most non-organic celery, may be a significant culprit in New Zealand cancers,” Browning warned.
