Dangerous Pesticides Found in All Oranges Tested
Sunday December 18, 2005
Before you slip an orange into your child’s Christmas stocking, or zest an orange peel to spice up your mince pie or cranberry sauce this Christmas, consider an official government report from the United Kingdom that suggests this popular citrus fruit should come with a warning label. Photo courtesy of Jason Cangialosi
According to The Independent, official monitoring by the Government Pesticides Residues Committee in the United Kingdom found dangerous pesticides in every orange examined. Many of the pesticides found in the oranges are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects ranging from damage to infants’ nervous and reproductive systems to vomiting and diarrhea in older children and adults.
About half of the pesticides found in oranges are banned for use in Britain, and more than a third were at levels that exceed danger levels established by the European Union and the U.K. Some of the pesticides found in the oranges tested are classified by the World Health Organization as “highly hazardous” or “moderately hazardous” for children under 14.
Six suspected carcinogens and six possible “gender-bender” chemicals were found in the oranges in various combinations. One orange tested contained seven different pesticides.
Despite all of this evidence, the Government Pesticides Residues Committee issued a statement saying that "no adverse health effects were anticipated" from oranges contaminated with concentrations of pesticides that exceed the legal limits.
But the Pesticides Action Committee (PAC) pointed out that government officials reached their conclusion by assuming that people don’t eat much of the orange peel, where the poisonous chemicals concentrate.
"Think how much of the peel we use in cooking, particularly at Christmas," the PAC said in a statement. "This is one surprise in the Christmas pudding that we can all do without."
Comments
I am just now seeing this article that was written in 2005. Are the pesticides still being used in the oranges today? (2007) Or have they been banned from being used on oranges? Please let me know ecause we eat oranges regularly in the USA.
And where are these oranges grown that they have so many toxic chemicals in them? We need the whole story; not just half of it. Thank you!
Last year my husband and I purchased some bag of oranges and we both got little ill. Nothing serious I hope. Then again this next winter we purchased another bag of oranges from Kroger. They are very good. We ate one or two each a day. After 3-5 days we both were having side pains diahrea etc. We stopped and our illness stopped. So a few days later my husband found one a lonely orange and surprise he got sick again that very evening. ???”????
Eat Organic food. Not only are pesticides strictly forbidden in Organic farming, but (in the US at least) soil in which Organic food is grown must be cleansed for no less than 3 years before the food grown there receives the USDA certification.