Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Christa Lansdell on 20/12/2016 09:44:26
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Christa Lansdell asked the Naked Scientists:
First of all I must tell you how much I enjoy your talk show (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/) with Redi Direko on radio 702. I have called in.
What I am now concerned about is the amount of chemicals that are used to either promote the early budding of grapes so that not all the fields come into yield at the same time.  Then on top of that the other chemicals for prevention of certain fungus or just to keep pests away. I know that the one they use to promote early budding is a deadly chemical. (the name escapes me but it is similar to dormnoc) I saw the tractor drivers go out it heavy protective clothing with face masks. No part of their body can be exposed as it can cause their skin to peel off. They only do this procedure at night when there is no wind. The farmer does not let his children eat the grapes!  I too now am totally put off and will not consume grapes even after washing as I am sure the skin must absorb these chemicals.   Though they are exported for table grapes. One cannot help wondering why packets of fresh fruit and vegetables do not have to have the chemicals printed on like packets in supermarkets.  So my question is - is it safe to eat the fruit we buy in the supermarkets?
Kind regards
Christa
What do you think?
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Miraculously, despite insecticides, ripening agents, sulfites, food miles....we are living longer, healthier lives than ever. Why? Because the food doesn't rot or get eaten by bugs before we buy it, and it's actually fresh and good for you. If supermarkets deliberately poisoned their customers, they wouldn't have any customers.
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Chemicals which might affect food safety are restricted in when they can be applied, so that levels are safe at the point of sale.
Although some countries enforce the rules more rigidly than others...
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The legal implications for any supermarket chain that sold fruit that was found to be unsafe would be very large and I am sure that tests are made to ensure that pesticide traces are well below legal limits.
If you are really concerned you could wash or peel the fruit but the implications of not eating fruit are much greater than the tiny risk from pesticide traces.
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A close friend of mine, suggested the following advice:
In a supermarket, buy only fruits like bananas and oranges,
These have very thick skins, which are unlikely to get penetrated by noxious chemical sprays.
The thick skins stop the sprays contaminating the inner fruit. So it can be safely eaten.
Don't buy any thin-skinned fruit like tomatoes or pears. These are wide-open to chemical penetration.
Is it true, do you think?
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The legal implications for any supermarket chain that sold fruit that was found to be unsafe would be very large and I am sure that tests are made to ensure that pesticide traces are well below legal limits.
If you are really concerned you could wash or peel the fruit but the implications of not eating fruit are much greater than the tiny risk from pesticide traces.
I have a liking for raw carrot, and frequently notice an overpowering taste of agrichemicals in the ones I eat (peeled). The taste is usually stronger the closer you get to the top.
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A close friend of mine, suggested the following advice:
In a supermarket, buy only fruits like bananas and oranges,
These have very thick skins, which are unlikely to get penetrated by noxious chemical sprays.
The thick skins stop the sprays contaminating the inner fruit. So it can be safely eaten.
Don't buy any thin-skinned fruit like tomatoes or pears. These are wide-open to chemical penetration.
Is it true, do you think?
Plainly nonsense as afar as I can see.
The pips, for example, got into the middle of the orange. Why couldn't the pesticides get there by the same mechanism?
However, as has been pointed out the pesticides are specially selected to have low human toxicity. The same is not true of mycotoxins etc.
That's part of the reason why we expect to live longer than our ancestors
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Thanks bored chemist.
On your point about the pips in the orange. Didn't the pips grow naturally inside the orange. Without being artificially inserted from the outside.
This is plainly different from chemical pesticides, which are artificially inserted from the outside.
However I agree with you that we live longer than our ancestors. Even if our supermarket fruit isn't entirely wholesome, we do get to buy pineapples, and minced beef and lamb, and cheese and chicken, and chocolate , and detergents, and soap, and all kinds of stuff that would've made our ancestors think they were in Paradise Terrestrial.
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Thanks bored chemist.
On your point about the pips in the orange. Didn't the pips grow naturally inside the orange. Without being artificially inserted from the outside.
This is plainly different from chemical pesticides, which are artificially inserted from the outside.
However I agree with you that we live longer than our ancestors. Even if our supermarket fruit isn't entirely wholesome, we do get to buy pineapples, and minced beef and lamb, and cheese and chicken, and chocolate , and detergents, and soap, and all kinds of stuff that would've made our ancestors think they were in Paradise Terrestrial.
Every atom of the pips was brought to the middle of the orange by some mechanism.
Not only is there no reason to presume that the same mechanism couldn't carry pesticides, but there is a whole group of pesticides whose defining feature is that they can be transported within the plant's tissues.
Have a look for systemic pesticides here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide