What Chemicals Are in Food? Simple Solutions to Avoid Harmful Toxins in Food

By Melinda Wenner Moyer, "How you can avoid BPA, mercury, pesticides and more chemicals in your food.," September/October 2011

How you can avoid BPA, mercury, pesticides and more chemicals in your food.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Thank you for this article. This has long been a concern for our family. Luckily my in-laws raise grass fed beef, chicken, and organic pork. I would love a source for more food companies that have eliminated BPA and other toxins from...

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Minimizing Pesticides in My Diet by Going Selectively Organic

I’ve always loved fruit, but as my pregnancy progressed I saw a boost in my cravings. Although I’d generally settled for conventionally grown produce—organic can be more expensive!—a little research made me reconsider my habits.

In 2010, researchers from Harvard University, Emory University and the FDA analyzed fruits, vegetables and juices consumed by elementary school children and found 11 different synthetic pesticides present among the samples. Apples, bananas, blueberries, peaches and strawberries were among the laced items. That same year, researchers at the University of Texas School of Public Health analyzed more than 300 nonorganic foods—from fruit to fish, peanut butter to pork—at supermarkets around Dallas and found that every single one of them contained multiple pesticides.

While levels of each pesticide measured individually were low—none exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reference doses or the European Union’s maximum residue levels—consuming mixtures of these chemicals may cause health problems, the researchers said.

Next: Pesticides Approved for use in the United States »