WOW - Pesticides found in conventionally grown apples Canada

[Thinktank]

This CBC article says conventionally grown apples have thirteen times more
residue of this fungicide - thiabendazole, than the organic apples that
were tested.

Two questons:
First, is thiabendazole used on apples as a post harvest fungicide?

Second, How did the organic apples get thiabendazole on them (at a much lower amount)?


Discuss


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... iteam.html

[grammafreddy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiabendazole

[Glacier]

Second, How did the organic apples get thiabendazole on them (at a much lower amount)?

Either through cross contamination or cheating. There's always cheaters within every crowd, so it's reasonable to assume that some organic growers cheat just like some conventional growers. Most don't though.

The main point that can be drawn from the article is that organic produce has FAR less contamination, and since apples are the worst of the dirty dozen, so it's best to buy them organic.

[Thinktank]

No - cheating isn't a big deal - at least not what I see of organic farmers
in canada. Maybe Mexico. Mayb China. Maybe some huge growers in USA.

The problem with thiabendazole is because big packing houses like stemilt
in wshington state and even Okanagan tree fruits here - they pack
organic AND sprayed fruit on the same packing line, but they are supposed
to wash their equipment THOUROUGHLY. Look at the video below - you
will see there is a heck of a lot of equipment to wash thouroughly. And that's
how the organic apples got contaminated.

But it makes me wonder if post harvest fungicides are good for people.
I won't buy a conventionally grown apple ever again, if I find out it
was treated with post harvest fungicides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVad0LOC ... r_embedded

[Thinktank]

CBC is a big liar

there's no way 24% of organic apples are contaminated
with thiabendazole. BC does not use any post harvest fungicides.
BC does not use thiabendazole.

CBC is a liar. How do I know? No one will admit to writing that article.
I phoned CBc and they said it's a 'group' effort, and no one will talk to me
about it. They told me to call Food Inspection agency.

So I called Food Inspection agency. They gave me an Ontario number.
Ontario gave me a Burnaby number. and Burnaby gave me the original toll free number I called
in the first place.
Each time, I was unable to talk to someone who knows about this particular
sample of organic apples that have the fungicide, thiabendazole on them.

I believe, 100%, that CBC pulled a fast one on all Canadians - and they simply lied.

.

[Nebula]

Could you have used a bigger font?

[The Green Barbarian]

I believe, 100%, that CBC pulled a fast one on all Canadians - and they simply lied.[/size]

.

you are right - time for the government funded gravy train to finally be stopped.

[Thinktank]

I emailed a bunch of apple packers in eastern Canada and USA.
So far one in New York said ' YES - they do use 'some' post harvest fungicides
on the apples, but to my question - what percentage of the total crop - they
avoided answering.

If CBC was telling part truth, and SOME organic pesticides from somewhere
actually did have thiabendazole on them, we should know who was the company
that allowed that to happen, and also we should probably not be allowing post harvest
fungicides to be used. I don't want an apple that was 'drenched' in stuff that no real
long term studies have been done to determine how bad the stuff causes cancer.
I will eat an apple that might have been sprayed three months earlier though, and
had time for the rain to wash it off, or the sun to partly break it down.

I'm thinking eastern Canadian and American apples are totally treated with these post
harvest fungicides. But I'll wait to see if anyone emails me back.