[CPEO-MEF] Growers fret over perchlorate in produce

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California
THE PINNACLE
Growers fret over perchlorate in produce
Two tests now show the thyroid disrupter in lettuce; more testing
underway
By SARAH RUBY

With mounting evidence of perchlorate in the food supply, farmers have a
full plate of problems as they plan for next year’s growing season.

The first government-sponsored look at perchlorate in food is currently
underway, and by midsummer scientists will have information on
perchlorate uptake in a variety of foods, including lettuce.

In April, two studies – one by a San Bernardino newspaper and another by
an environmental group – set off red flags when they found perchlorate
in lettuce irrigated by the Colorado River, which accounts for nearly
all winter lettuce eaten nationally. The newspaper-sponsored study found
perchlorate in 100 percent of its 19 samples, and the highest
concentrations in backyard lettuce irrigated with drinking water.

The news could be especially alarming to residents of southern Santa
County, where almost 400 wells have been contaminated by a former
flare-manufacturing operation and residents have wondered about the
affects on locally grown produce.

“It makes the point that you have to know what is in your produce,” said
Cindy Gobin, a Morgan Hill resident who has been lobbying city hall to
test backyard gardens grown with municipal water, with little success.
“I don’t understand why they’re stalling because it’s in everyone’s best
interest. [The city] should be the ones that take the initiative to find
out.”

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.pinnaclenews.com/sv-edition/sv3.php

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