Beware of latent Pesticides: by taking the Bite of your Food

          Various scientific studies prove the alarming ways PFAS wreak havoc upon huml.an health, wild life and the environment

          Not many realize the significance of an insight that a social media influencer recently shared on Instagram challenging the claims being made by the multinational giant Cadbury about its poplar health drink Bernita. Recant Himatsingka was forced to withdraw his highly informative social media post after he was served a legal notice on the behalf of company.

          Importance of carefully deciphering the claims that remain hidden among the technical ingredients mentioned on the peak is not only an extraordinary ability but has far reaching implications for the society. While Himatsingka’s post could have and in fact should have, made the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) take appropriate steps to bring in tougher regulation to make the “Health” drinks available in the market, really healthy; it also must force the industry not to hide behind the protective cloak of sensitive and commercially valuable information that cannot be publicly shared. A consumer has the absolute right to know that what he or she is being served.

          Why I am saying this is because, howsoever well-informed you think that you are there are times that a revelation can shock you out of your wits. To cite an instance, a few days back I read that Maine has become the first state in US to have imposed a ban, beginning 2030, on the pesticides that contain toxic and harmful PEAS ingredients.

          All the people among us knows that chemical pesticides are poisons and therefore harmful but it took some time to figure out that what the active ingredient PEAS stands for. A peer revived study. The Devil they knew; Chemical Documents Analysis of industry Influence on PEAS Science – and published (June 1, 2023) in the journal “Annals of Global Health” expanded the acronym to “Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances”, and explained that these are a class of widely-used chemicals that persist in the environment and bio-accumulate in the humans and animals posing a global concern.

          Not much is known regarding the harmful impact of the PEAS on human health and environment in India. We tend to buy what the industries claim, and once these are approved by the concerned regulatory authorities, hardly any questions are asked. Like in the US where there have been number of the cases where immense industry influence on the science and policy has been reported, including from PEAS producing industries in at least four of the six strategic areas that were examined, in India too industry tends to hugely influence public policy. The banning of 27 pesticides in India, with pressure now being built to reduce the ban to just three of these highly hazardous pesticides, is a case in the point.

          Getting back to PEAS, take a look at the horrifying public health implications these chemicals pose. The PEAS as a group comprises some 12,034 variants, and have vast consumer and industrial applications. In the case of the pesticides, an investigation by a formidable US-based public research organization, the Environment Working Group (EWG), says that Maine has complained a list of 55 active ingredients belonging to the PEAS group that have been intentionally added to commonly used pesticides, or pesticides contaminated with PEAS. Using this data, the EWG found out that more than 1,400 pesticides, registered in Maine, use PEAS. It is heartening to find Maine pick up the courage to ban those chemicals, and I hope other States will follow soon. After all, there is no place for more potent toxins in our food. However, in India, I am sure by now the industry and policy makers would have been up in arms citing food security concerns.

          Nevertheless, another article in The Guardian (June 7, 2023) by Tom Perkins talks of how chemical industry tried to hide evidence by withholding internal studies, like what was earlier done by the tobacco and biotech industry (and I would add sugar industry to this list). A DuPont internal study for instance had found that PFAS led to the enlargement of lab rats, and also caused birth defects among the company’s workers. Serval other internal studies too brought out the health risks but were kept hidden.

          “In the early 1980s, DuPont found elevated liver enzymes in 60 per cent of workers tested, and a confidential internal report detailed birth defects among pregnant plant employees. In the years that followed, 3M and DuPont internal studies found the chemicals likely caused prostate, testicular, bladder and kidney cancers”, mentions the article. But in internal communications, the message conveyed was that all is well. Denying of any known adverse public health reaction. DuPont has said the chemicals are “about as toxic as table salt”.

          The Global Health journal study that I referred above stated that the industry knew as early as in 1970s that PFAS were “highly toxic when inhaled, and moderately toxic when digested”. But then more evidence came out, but it was kept away from regulators. Studies conducted between1969 and 1981 had shown “liver degeneration, enlarged livers, and increased liver enzymes in rats fed with low and high doses of the chemical C8.”  

          There have been cases where female employees were removed from the areas where they were exposed to chemicals following internal surveys pointing to increased health and the birth outcomes. Even the low dose of PFAS in drinking water has been associated with suppressing immune systems, reproductive problems, and increased the risk of cancer and cholesterol. Profit being the motive, these industries have kept such studies under wraps.

          When used in pesticides, PFAS ingredients can be a risk for the farmers, farm workers and also their families. Known as ‘forever chemicals’ the PFAS are used because they do not break sown in the environment, but they continue to build up in the blood and also in our different organs. “Scientific studies show the alarming ways PFAS wreak havoc on the human health, wildlife and environment”, the EWG vice-president for science investigations was quoted as saying.

          It is quite obvious that PFAS use in pesticides formulations must be equally large in India. Public awareness being the first step to awaken and built up a public opinion, I am hoping that the farmers and the civil society will call for a change in pesticide policies that aims to reduce the health and environmental havoc. At the same time, the policy makers, as well as agricultural scientists, must study why and how Maine State in US is trying to phase out of pesticides with PFAS contamination. There are immediate lessons here.