NFU highlights failure of pesticide cancer risk claims

The NFU has strongly rejected newspaper claims that pesticides in food could be triggering a rise in cancer rates.

After careful consideration of the paper on which the reports have been based, the NFU says it provides no new information on the possible reasons for increases in the observed rates of various cancers in the western world over the last 35 years.

NFU Vice President Paul Temple expressed “surprise” at national newspaper coverage of the paper and said: “Unfortunately, this is another study that fails to provide a complete picture. It fails to compare the undisputed benefits of eating fresh produce to the small possible risk associated with the way they are grown.”

Mr Temple also highlighted the fact that the study is just one of a vast number that have considered not only the reasons for increased incidence of cancers, but also epidemiological studies aimed at identifying increased risks or disease incidence in particular groups. Several of these studies have focused on farmers who represent a group likely to have a very high level of exposure to compounds that may be of concern.

Mr Temple said: “This was recently reviewed by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the UK, as part of a study on the potential impacts of plant protection products on the health of rural residents.

This did not come to the same conclusions as this study, considering the field ‘vast, complex and controversial’.

“Similarly, the UK Committee on Carcinogenicity, an independent committee that reports to the Department of Health, concluded in 2004 that increases in prostrate cancer observed in the UK over 20-30 years are largely accounted for by improved diagnostic techniques.

“This is therefore an area of intensive study that does not produce a clear conclusion in relation to the risks associated with the presence of agricultural pesticides. Some studies suggest increasing risks associated with long-term pesticide use, although not consumption through diet, and others fail to find any link between use and the increased incidence of disease.

“This contrasts with the overwhelming consistency regarding the positive value of fresh fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet. There is no controversy in saying that a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables is beneficial to health.

Mr Temple added: “This is an example where one aspect of a situation has been considered not only in isolation, but also in a historical context that does not necessarily apply to food that is grown or eaten today. It focuses particularly on organochlorine compounds such as DDT which are no longer used in UK agriculture, but are still used in the developing world. Therefore exposure to these compounds through UK grown produce will be minimal.

“It is disappointing that influential national newspapers have not considered the potential impact of such an incomplete approach, which could influence the eating habits of their readers to the detriment of their health.”