‘Pesticides are poisoning our food’
Measured residues of plant protection products are often sensationalised in the media. The fact that these residues are well below the levels that could affect our health is usually not mentioned. Equally unmentioned is the fact that pesticides make it possible to produce healthy food for broad sections of the population in the first place and thus contribute significantly to public health.
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The most important information in brief:
- High safety margins ensure safe consumption.
- Consumers can consume Swiss food from conventional farming without hesitation.
- Many toxic fungi, pathogens and dangerous weeds cannot be controlled without pesticides.
The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) publishes the results of official controls for Switzerland and Liechtenstein together. Of the samples reported in 2019, 3140 were analysed for pesticide residues. The 1077 samples from products of Swiss origin showed a rejection rate of 2.7%, which is again lower than in previous years (2018: 3.2%, 2017: 6.5%, 2016: 5.6%, 2015: 6.5%).
High safety margins
It should be noted that the statutory maximum level for consumer health described here is of limited significance in any case. For there to be a specific health risk, the residue of pesticides would have to exceed the maximum permissible level by a factor of around 100. This is because the authorities build in high safety margins. People would have to consume these objectionable foods in huge quantities to actually endanger their health. The same applies to drinking water. To exceed the recommended limits, a person would have to drink a lot.
Blindspot article
Pesticides make food safer
Consumer programmes and magazines also like to ignore the fact that the finding of several different residues in food is not necessarily a bad thing. This may sound paradoxical, but it is easy to explain. Modern pesticides are becoming more and more specific – for example, they may only work against certain groups of pests. As a result, farmers have to use several different active ingredients instead of simply using an old agent to kill everything, including beneficial insects. From an environmental point of view, this is a positive thing. The one-sided focus on residues in food ignores the fact that food is becoming safer for humans precisely because of pesticides, because they, for example, prevent carcinogenic mycotoxins. Without insect repellents and disinfectants – both pesticides – there would be less food safety.
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