 A new report released in September has found that fruit and vegetables given out free to children in schools contains more pesticides than those on sale in shops. The tests were carried out by the Government's Pesticide Residues Committee last year and are included in the Soil Association's Pesticides in School Children's Fruit report released on 21st September 2005.
Chemical residues were found in 84 per cent of the fresh produce in schools, rising to 100 per cent in some types of fruit, the Soil Association said.
These levels are higher because the fruit and vegetables supplied under the Government's School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) were of lower quality than those sold in shops, the group claimed. All the strawberries, mandarins, satsumas and clementines bound for schools contained pesticide residues.
Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association, said: "The Soil Association strongly supports the school fruit scheme.
"But it is wrong for a scheme that provides fruit and vegetables to the most vulnerable in society to source lower quality fruit and vegetables, apparently containing a higher proportion of pesticides and pesticide cocktails, than the fruit and vegetables available in shops."
The Soil Association wants the Government to reduce pesticides in fruit and vegetables supplied to schools by increasing the use of in-season UK-grown fruit and vegetables and by using more organic produce. Responding to the Soil Association's report, the Department of Health said a monitoring programme had already been set up to test for pesticides in produce supplied to schools.
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