I love grapefruit. For the past two years or so I’ve eaten a grapefruit a day. They are my usual after-dinner dessert. So what’s with the British trying to sour my sweets?

A recent “British study” indicates regular grapefruit consumption increases risk of breast cancer. Whatever. I’m not going to worry about one little study. However, this little tidbit is a little disconcerting…

The study has been criticized in some circles for using conventionally grown grapefruits. Given the amount of research into the dangers of pesticides, and the kind of heavy pesticide use that goes into growing citrus fruits, it seems possible and even likely that the estrogen effects observed in the women eating a lot of grapefruit are due to chemical pesticides, and not the fruit itself.

I almost always eat “conventionally grown” grapefruit because the organic stuff is crazy expensive – over £1 ($1.96 USD) a grapefruit. But the article makes me want to brush my tongue and book a colonic. How creepy is it that pesticides can permeate the grapefruit’s skin and invade its delicious fruit? And just how many are getting through?

To find out, I looked to the Pesticide Data Program (PDP) which collects and analyses data on pesticide residues in agricultural commodities. Their 2006 Summary includes pesticide analysis of grapefruit. According to the report, “grapefruit are peeled and excess white membrane is removed” prior to the chemical check (so the fruit inside is tested, not the skin).

The lab test detected 9 different pesticides in 345 of 743 (46%) samples. However, only the fungicide Imazalil was found in more than 10% of the samples. According to the PAN Pesticides Database, Imazalil is one of their so-called “Bad Actors“, listed as a “likely” carcinogen and “moderately hazardous” in toxicity.

The sample only includes grapefruit grown in the U.S., so us expats can’t really draw any conclusions from this. But even if I were back in the U.S. of A, would I let the stats keep me from enjoying a Texas Ruby Red? Maybe. This is the kind of news that makes me want to own my own house, somewhere warm, far from crop dusters, where I can have my own garden and fruit trees.

We’re getting there…

• Link to original article (via Cranky Fitness)
• Link to the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program (PDP)
• Link to Imazalil info at the PAN Pesticides Database

Crossposted to spacekadet.org

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