Health Food Samples Loaded With Pesticide Residues
LONDON — Health foods contain more pesticide residues than any other foods tested by the Ministry of Agriculture, the ministry said Friday.
In a sampling of food available in health food stores and supermarkets, the Ministry of Agriculture found that 60% of nuts, beans, seeds and legumes contained traces of pesticides.
About half, or 51%, of the dried and semi-dried fruit contained pesticide traces, it said.
The health foods sampled were not organically grown and many were imported, said Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman, Christine Jude.
“With health foods like nuts, pastas and seeds, they are mainly non-U.K. produced and in many cases they have quite a long journey,†she said. “They are fumigated to prevent them from rotting or becoming pest-infected.â€
The lowest level of pesticide residue was found in fresh fruits and vegetables from regular grocery stores, which showed 20% containing traces of pesticides.
The pesticide traces found in the health foods were well within maximum residue levels set by the government, Jude said. Of 4,000 food samples, 64% contained no detectable traces of pesticides, the ministry said.
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