Pesticide residues in food

Press, 18 March 1986, Page 20

Pesticide residues in food

Sir, —Rodger Welsh (March 14) may well feel smug about the enjoyable quality of his life. I hope he spares a thought now and then for those who are paying the price on his behalf. Perhaps he should ask those suffering the chronic and debilitating effects of chemical poisoning about the quality of their lives. — Yours, etc., DENISE ANKER. March 14, 1986.

Sir,—l must support Alan Upritchard’s contention on the extent of testing of modern pesticides and their effect on the environment. However, given the flood of new chemicals, many of which are man-made, the possibility of an unsuspected toxic breakdown product or interaction between an impossibly wide variety of compounds still leaves us with the potential for disaster. The “Tapanui flu” fiasco and other snafus demonstrate that

the medical profession is illprepared to deal with any disorder that was not described in the textbooks of the seventies. I suggest that the only way we can be assured of the ultimate safety of these man-made compounds is if a nation-wide database is established to collect and collate all the symptoms of all the general practice and hospital patients to alert us promptly to any break-outs of unusual disorders. — Yours, etc., lAN ORCHARD. March 14, 1986.