Apples, onions and other crops are sprayed with pesticides that could be dangerous for the brain, but the results have been obscured, according to a study from Stockholm University.
– I think it’s hair-raising, says one of the researchers behind the study, Axel Mie, to SVT.
He sees the cover-up as a clear violation of the law and ethics.
It concerns two agents, Fluazinam and Abamectin, which according to the manufacturers’ own studies cause reduced brain size in rat pups. Since brain development in rats is similar to that in humans, there is reason to believe that humans can also be affected by the substances, according to Axel Mie.
The manufacturers are required to report such results to the European Food Safety Authority EFSA, but have failed to do so in a quarter of the cases reviewed, according to the research study from Stockholm University.
That the authorities receive correct information from the manufacturers is a prerequisite for reliable assessments and for bans to be introduced, if necessary, points out Mie, who has a doctorate in analytical chemistry.
Fluazinam is used against fungal attacks in Swedish potato and onion farms and also in apple cultivation in, for example, South Tyrol. Abamectin is used in greenhouse cultivation of, for example, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and strawberries within the EU.