UK's EASTER EGG RETAILERS URGED TO GO LINDANE FREE

LONDON, United Kingdom, April 13, 2001 (ENS) - It is all but banned in
Europe but lindane, a hormone disrupting pesticide linked to breast cancer,
could be lurking in Easter eggs.

For full text (reprinted below) and graphics, visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-13-10.html

Environment     

UK's Easter Egg Retailers Urged to go Lindane Free

LONDON, United Kingdom, April 13, 2001 (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.

A farm worker tends organic cotton crops in Zimbabwe. With government,
industry and consumer support, cocoa farmers could switch to organic
production methods, say campaign groups.
 
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.

A planning meeting with stakeholders organized by the Ghana Organic
Agriculture Network.

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. 

"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."

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."

(Photo: Magnified image of head louse, once commonly dealt with by 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."

Children are vulnerable to pesticides because they play where pesticides are
commonly applied and because their central nervous systems are undergoing
rapid development. 

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.

© Environment News Service (ENS) 2001. All Rights Reserved.

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