Residues in baby food

Independent analysis of US baby food products has found 16 different pesticides in eight major baby foods. Researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) (a US NGO) commissioned a food industry lab to analyse eight foods which form a significant part of the average infant’s first-year diet: apple sauce, peaches, pears, plums, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes and garden vegetables (or pea and carrot blend).
    The products tested were made by the three largest US baby food producers, Gerber, Heinz and Beech-Nut, whose sales account for 96% of all baby food sold in the US. They were tested for pesticides using the Food and Drug Administration’s standard pesticide analytical methods. In the case of five of the foods, pesticides were detected in two-thirds or more of all samples. The study found 16 different pesticides including three probable human carcinogens, five possible human carcinogens, five pesticides that disrupt the endocrine system and eight nervous system toxins. The pesticide found most often and at the highest levels was iprodione, a fungicide used primarily on peaches and plums, and classified as a probable human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Pesticides in Baby Food, Richard Wiles and Kert Davies, EWG and National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform, 1995, EWG Press Release, 25 July, 1995, US$10 plus $3 shipping.
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