by Sandra Williams
Eww, pesticides have been found in Chinese dumplings. It sounds like they think it’s sabotage because Japan and China were getting along fine and trading more lately.
The strategy seems to have worked because all of Tianyang Food Processing Ltd. products are being recalled. Some stores will not sell any Chinese food products at all now.
One of the chemicals detected was benzene. It’s been banned in Japan for over 20 years so whoever put it there knew it would cause problems with China. Methamidophos was detected in several of the bags that were also punctured.
“Co-op said tests this week have found 110 parts per million of dichlorvos in the dumpling dough and 0.42 ppm in the filling. Japanese residue limits for the pesticide are set at one ppm in wheat and 0.1 ppm in cabbage - both ingredients of the dumplings.” (Chisaki Watanabe, Associated Press, Feb.6, 2008)
Benzene has been linked to leukemia as well as other illnesses but it’s also used to manufacture a variety of products such as plastic, rubber and paint.
Organic Food
Traces of pesticides are found in our food all over the world but not normally at the high levels that were found in the dumplings in Japan.
It’s still a concern though and it’s good idea to peel fruit and vegetables when possible. Turning to organic food is even better. There are more organic choices out there since the demand has grown. We have several local farms that grow organic fruit and vegetables.
I read that some organic food can even contain trace amounts of pesticides because the soil could still be contaminated from before. It does seem like a better bet to go with organic because it supports local farmers and lessens pesticide use.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:40 am
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