April, 1999
One of the Food Quality Protection Act pieces is now in place with the shipping of consumer right-to-know brochures to thousands of grocery stores.
Distribution of the final version of the brochure began Feb. 11. Approximately 41,000 retail grocery stores were shipped 100 copies each of the publication, entitled "Pesticides and Food: What You and Your Family Need to Know."
The first column of the brochure can be found in the sidebar accompanying this story. From there, the brochure moves to a shaded box with suggestions on "healthy, sensible food practices." These include tips on washing, peeling/trimming and selecting a variety of foods. At the bottom of the box is an endorsement of the "5 A Day" recommendations to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
The next paragraph is a statement on organic and IPM food. It states:
"Your grocer may be able to provide you with information about the availability of food grown using fewer or no pesticides. These foods are often grown using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or organic practices; however, there are currently no national standards on these farming practices."
The last column directs consumers to more information from EPA’s new right-to-know website (www.epa.gov/pesticides/food) and from a number of government agencies.
An earlier version of the brochure elicited protests from produce organizations. They believed it overstated the health risks of agricultural chemicals and too enthusiastically endorsed organically-produced products, thereby causing harm to conventionally-grown food.
The new version was leaked from EPA to Consumers Union in late December. CU then provided it to the New York Times, which published the leaked material. CU characterizes the brochure as "a propaganda piece for the food industry."
John McClung of the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association said his organization is pleased that the harsh language was dampened but is still concerned about some parts of the brochure.
"The general sense here is that we are somewhat relieved that some of the extreme language in earlier drafts was not included in final brochure. Nonetheless, we’re troubled by any official document or statement from the federal government that implies that produce is unsafe in any capacity," he said.
Although the brochure is mandated under FQPA to be published and distributed to stores, the stores are not required to display it.
"People are so inundated with information that it’s hard to imagine that this will have any impact," said McClung.
The Fruit Growers News