Using data from the 2007 Study of Use of Products and Exposure-Related Behaviour (SUPERB), which surveyed households in California with children aged 2-5 to determine how their diets, and other factors, contributed to toxic exposure, researchers compared toxin consumption with established benchmarks for cancer risk and non-cancer health risks. The study’s principal investigator Irva Hertz-Picciotto, professor and chief of the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health at UC Davis, stated that ‘Contaminants get into our food in a variety of ways’ but that the team wanted to understand the dietary pathway pesticides, metals and other toxins take to get into the body.’
The results were that pesticide exposure was particularly high in tomatoes, peaches, apples, peppers, grapes, lettuce, broccoli, strawberries, spinach, dairy, pears, green beans and celery, and all 364 children in the study, which consisted of 207 preschool children aged 2-7 and 157 school-age children aged 5-7, exceeded cancer benchmarks for arsenic, dieldrin, DDE and dioxins. Also, over 95% of preschool children went beyond non-cancer risk levels for acrylamide, which is a cooking by-product often found in processed foods like potato and tortilla chips.
However, the study also points to dietary modifications that could mitigate risk. According to Rainbow Vogt, lead author of the study, the focus was on children because the earlier you are exposed to a toxin, the more your wellness is at risk. Vogt said ‘The results of this study demonstrate a need to prevent exposure to multiple toxins in young children to lower their cancer risk.’ The study outlines ways for you to lower your family’s exposure, such as choosing organic produce as it has lower pesticide levels, and varying diet to protect you from accumulating too much of one toxin.