Monday, January 18, 2010

Chemicals coat apples decades after Alar scare

Comment:  The problem with these guidelines is that we don't know how much of something a consumer will eat.  Hence, the guidelines are arbitrary.  Someone juicing apples to make a glass of juice would have a much greater exposure than someone who eats an apple with lunch each day.
 
Chemicals coat apples decades after Alar scare
 

"More than two decades after parents dumped apples from children's lunch boxes because of concerns about a chemical applied to the fruit, most researchers agree the crop is safer although most of it still carries pesticide residue.  Growers saw prices plunge after a 1989 television report led to widespread fears apples were coated in a cancer-causing chemical called Alar, used to enhance crunch and color. The public outcry led the government to ban some chemicals and increase oversight, while growers adopted new approaches to spraying apples and reduced the use of harsh chemicals."

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