From Dr. Konstantinos C. Makris Within the new European Green Deal framework, the Farm to Fork strategy (1) recommends the gradual reduction in both the use of chemical pesticides, and the use of the most dangerous for human health pesticides by 50% in all European countries by 2030. Residues of chemical pesticides are often detected in
A newly published study among French adult volunteers, examined the association between consumption frequency of organic foods, assessed through a score evaluating the consumption frequency of organic food categories, and cancer risk in the ongoing, large-scale French NutriNet-Santé cohort. After adjustment for confounders (main model), high organic food scores were linearly and negatively associated with the overall
During the 30th SANA international exhibition of organic and natural products, the results of the survey of Italian food agriculture, promoted by BolognaFiere with the support of FederBio and Assobio and curated by Nomisma were presented. The survey was based on a sample group of 200 retail points for the section dedicated to the retail
In a recent letter, the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment refers to the implementation of the Green Public Procurement Action Plan (GPP) and more specifically to the organic food purchase by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is
A report for the evaluation of the scheme promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables in schools for the school years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 has been published. The effectiveness of the School Fruit Scheme (SFS) was assessed with filed surveys but the absence of baseline measurements for fruit and vegetable consumption didn’t allow for
A new study published in the Nature Communications journal investigated the association of residential agricultural pesticide exposure during gestation, by trimester, and by toxicity with birth weight, gestational length, or birth abnormalities using individual birth and demographic characteristics for over 500 000 births during 1997–2011, in the agriculturally dominated area of San Joaquin Valley in
Organophosphate insecticides (OPs) are used for pest management not only in agriculture but also in residential settings and the general population is exposed to OPs mainly through the diet. A number of studies have shown association of OPs with developmental neurotoxicity since prenatal exposures to OPs have been found to be associated with deficits in
Since August 1 2017, the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme is in place, so that it can be implemented in the 2017-18 school year, across the 28 Member States, including Cyprus. The new scheme is a combination of the previous schemes – the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme and the School Milk Scheme
The associations between prenatal and childhood exposure to pyrethroid incesticides and children’s behaviour were assessed in the PELAGIE mother-child cohort by Viel et al., 2017. Five pyrethroid metabolites (3-PBA, 4-F-3-PBA, cis-DCCA and trans-DCCA, and cis-DBCA) were measured in maternal and child urine samples and children’s behaviour was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Based on the Organic Report (the official magazine of the Organic Trade Association), research studies published in 2016 highlighted the environmental and health benefits of organic. The benefits are summarized below: Health Benefits (1) Pesticides: Two studies out of China and Korea showed that up to a quarter of all leafy greens exceed the maximum allowable residue limit for pesticides,
