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Urged to go Lindane Free |
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Environmental News Service
LONDON, United Kingdom, (ENS) - It is all but banned in Europe but lindane, a hormone disrupting pesticide linked to breast cancer, could be lurking in Easter eggs.
That is because farmers in cocoa producing countries still use lindane, according to the United Kingdom based Ban Lindane Campaign. The lindane tainted cocoa turns up in chocolate Easter eggs.
Also known as gamma benzene hexachloride, lindane is a powerful insecticide used to treat everything from head lice to insects on timber. Farmers spray food crops with lindane, particularly apples, wheat and maize (corn). In 1998, a European Union report prepared by the Austrian government called for sales of lindane to be suspended because of concerns about the chemical's effect on human health. The report listed lindane as a carcinogenic substance with no safe exposure limit. It said lindane could damage the immune system and nervous system while causing hormone disruption, behavioral changes and birth defects. Last year, the European Union gave its 15 member countries up to 18 months to phase lindane use for all but domestic purposes. Use of lindane in domestic products such as ant killer, for example, would still be permitted. But that ban does not stop products containing lindane residues from entering Europe. The Ban Lindane Campaign wants retailers and chocolate manufacturers in the UK to make a commitment this Easter to stop lindane from being sprayed on cocoa crops. The campaign is made up of Friends of the Earth, Green Network, Pesticides Action Network UK, UNISON, Women's Environmental Network and the Soil Association. "People should be able to enjoy Easter eggs without worrying about hidden pesticides," said Sandra Bell, real food campaigner for Friends of the Earth.
In a survey of the UK's major retailers, the campaign found that some chocolate still contains lindane residues. Some supermarkets claimed that the lindane found in chocolate is safe. Campaigners point out that Austria's 1998 report concluded that it is not possible to set a safe exposure level for lindane. The campaign accused supermarkets of an "alarming lack of control over the chocolate supply chain." Some retailers use this as an excuse for not taking action, said campaigners. Safeway, for example, responded to the campaign's survey by saying, "The complex infrastructure makes it impossible to ensure that lindane is not used." Sainsbury's quoted a trade association for chocolate suppliers, which states, "It is not practicable for purchasers to stipulate that they will buy only beans from cocoa trees not treated with lindane." But some supermarkets have found or are seeking lindane free chocolate. The Co-op, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose fit this category and Somerfield told the campaign that its suppliers do not use lindane "at the present time." Co-op's Fair Trade chocolate can be traced directly to the cocoa grower in Ghana and is free of lindane residues. The same assurance cannot be made for the store's other chocolate products but it has committed to withdraw from sale any chocolate product found to contain lindane. The UK's largest supermarket Tesco did not respond to the survey. Most supermarkets claim that levels of lindane in chocolate are going down. The last time that chocolate was tested by the government's Working Party on Pesticides Residues in 1998, three quarters of the samples contained residues of lindane, and 20 out of 20 of food industry samples contained lindane. "We recommend that shoppers buy organic or fairly traded chocolate this Easter but all chocolate should be pesticide free," said Jill Day, of UNISON, the UK's largest trade union. Helen Lynn of Women's Environmental Network said consumers need to make an informed choice before indulging their chocolate habits but currently have little information at their disposal. "We welcome any moves to make the best choice available to everyone," said Lynn. "We call on retailers to make a commitment to work with their suppliers and the chocolate manufacturers to ensure chocolate is both a luxury to work with as well as to eat." Barbara Dinham of the Pesticides Action Network raised the issue of farmers using lindane. "Cocoa farmers are interested in growing organic cocoa but need government, industry and consumer support to do so. Ghanaian environmentalists are extremely concerned that cocoa pesticides, including lindane are also being used on local crops, with serious risks to human health." Prior to the European Union ban, several countries, including the UK, Sweden, Denmark and France, had already banned lindane in agricultural use to protect farm workers exposed to it. In cocoa producing countries like Ghana, sprayers are rarely given safety training or supplied with the sort of protective clothing required in Europe. |
"It is alarming that some supermarkets don't even know if lindane has been used on the cocoa in their chocolate. The big chocolate companies and retailers must ensure that all the cocoa they use is safely farmed, and isn't sprayed with dangerous chemicals like lindane."
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