Nature's Touch Wild Blueberries Pesticide Residue Free

[ElliotB]

I was shopping at Costco a couple of days ago and was excited to find this product, "Nature's Touch Wild Frozen Blueberries Certified Pesticide Residue Free".

Fruits and vegetables are typically laced with pesticides (yes, even organic products which are really no better than their conventionally grown counterparts) and I avoid them as much as possible. But since I must use berries regularly (I mix them with the kefir water I make/drink), I am switching over to these and will greatly limit the other ones that I use.

I am hoping they have other similar products and have contacted the company directly but have not yet heard back.

[orphansparrow]

Oh nice! I like the obvious labeling. I hope other companies will start doing this.

[ElliotB]

I was excited to hear back from Nature's Touch. The rep informed me that they also carry Pesticide free Mangoes, as well as a 3 Berry Mix.

Lets hope this is the start of a trend and not just an exception! Pesticides on fruit and vegetables are making a lot of people sick.

[Zanne]

Sorry to put a less hopeful spin on this, but I have learned to read between the wording on labels. These Nature's Touch Wild Blueberries were Organic as recently as earlier this year. Then prices for wild blueberries dropped out and the feds propped up prices by buying up all the wild blueberries. With an extra hand or two in the mix (i.e., government intervention, bless their hearts), these blueberries are no longer being sold as organic. Are they now being sprayed with pesticides and/or a chlorine solution (yes, that's standard practice with non-organic produce) to handle the extra middle men? A package label that says they are pesticide residue free does not mean chemical residue free. This makes me believe that they have indeed been subject to pesticides or other chemicals by spraying, soaking, or fogging with something that renders them non-organic (i.e., polluted with chemicals for us to ingest). Pesticide residue free is not the same as pesticide free or chemical free. What have they done to the organic wild blueberries?

[ElliotB]

Zanne, organic doesn't mean pesticide free unfortunately. In fact, since the pesticides used in organic growing are typically less effective then regular pesticides, often more is used. Ultimately, it is impossible to buy pesticide free products nor would you want to as they would be full of unwanted creatures.

I really don't know if these berries are any better than others organic or conventional. Who knows... Just because there is no residue on the outside doesn't meant they are pesticide free on the inside.

[Zanne]

Organic by definition is food produced "without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides" (from Merriam-Webster). By "pesticides" in my post I was referring to these chemically formulated concoctions that are poison to our bodies. To avoid this, the only real way to know we are getting pesticide free is to grow our own. And, yes, I'll take a critter or two along the way and wash it off! Those darn horn worms though are nasty!

[ElliotB]

While organic foods may be produced without chemically formulated 'stuff', pesticides are still used, just not chemically formulated ones.

This is one of many articles you can find on the web dealing with this:

Myth busting on pesticides: Despite demonization, organic farmers widely use them

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/ ... -use-them/

The BIG problem with pesticides used in organic farming is they are typically not as effective as their traditional equivalents so more is used which may not be good.

[Zanne]

I agree that approved pesticides may still be used on organic produce. There is no argument here! Do I like that organic farmers may resort to them? No! But unless I want to grow my own, of everything, I count on organic growers to at least put less harmful pesticides on my food. Of interest to anyone who wishes to read between the lines: The Genetic Literacy Project cited above (and sounds so definitive!) is funded by none other than Monsanto. I rest my case!

[ElliotB]

Slick marketing is just that. The truth about organic foods is readily available on the web.

"I count on organic growers to at least put less harmful pesticides on my food"

That is exactly what the organic growers want you to believe. The bottom line is that if there really are 'less harmful' pesticides, they can still be quite harmful even if they are called or considered organic, and since there may be more on the foods being treated because they don't work well, you may actually be worse off.

There is no simple way to know what the best option is when it comes to commercially grown fruit and vegetables. But fortunately there are home systems that allow you to grow a variety of green vegetables indoors without any pesticides whatsoever and limited 'fruits' (certain specific vegetables that are often thought of as fruits (such as peppers, tomatoes, cucumber can also been grown indoors without pesticides). Traditional modern fruits like apples and oranges and most other 'sweet' fruits, which should likely be avoided anyway because of their high sugar content, obviously pose problems for growing indoors at home.