Brazil: Greenpeace finds pesticides in school lunch products

Analyses carried out by International Non Governmental Organization Greenpeace showed pesticide residues in 60% of food samples collected from a school lunch products supplied to municipal schools in Rio de Janeiro.

To do the analyses, the NGO bought 40 kilos of food from one of the six companies that provide products to the city's Department for Education.

The surveyed company supplies food to 171 schools in 24 neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro. After they purchased the food, the samples were divided into 20 lots of two kilograms each and sent to the Pesticide Residues Laboratory of São Paulo state government.

Twelve of the 20 samples had pesticide residues, including rice and beans. In two samples (10% of the total) of cabbage, they found an insecticide, which is forbidden in the country by the National Health Surveillance Agency: the methamidophos.

In seven lots (35% of total) of beans, cucumbers, and peppers, technicians found the benfuracarb pesticide, whose use is forbidden for crops. In four samples, they have found pesticide residues above the maximum level allowed.

In seven lots, two or more pesticides were found. In yellow pepper samples, seven different pesticides were detected.

Family farming

According to the coordinator of Greenpeace's food and agriculture campaign, Rafael Cruz, some measures could be adopted by the Rio city government to improve the quality of food. Some of these measures are to purchase products from family farms (which tend to use less pesticide than large producers), to stimulate farming within Rio, and to do regular analysis of products purchased.

"As it responsible for what it puts on the plate of children of the public system, the city would have to do regular tests, even if just sample tests, so we know what we're serving," said Cruz.

According to Greenpeace, Rio de Janeiro city serves approximately 224 million lunches per year to their students. In 2014, of the $17.2 million invested in school food, none of it was spent on family farming products.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta