The labels are silent. Thus, under the unaware eyes of consumers, supermarkets are flooded with lentils Made in Canada, dried with glyphosate and other agrotoxins. And imports from overseas threaten the survival of crops in Italy. From the Altamura IGP lentil consortium in Puglia – the first Italian region in production (15.9 thousand tons, 13 million euros) – the alarm cry.
Legumes, 1 package out of 3 comes from far away
Italian imports of legumes from Canada recorded a double-digit growth in 2017, +16%. 29.2 thousand tons, compared to 22 thousand in 2016.
Istat data – even if still being defined – show that one package out of three of lentils, chickpeas and peas is foreign. But the consumer is unaware.
Even less is it explained to the consumer that legumes imported from cold countries are systematically treated with various agrotoxins – desiccants and pesticides – even a few days before harvest.
Between Canada and Italy, CETA and glyphosate
While in Italy the spreading of glyphosate is prohibited in the agricultural phases preceding the harvest, in Canada the agrotoxin is sprayed on plants up to 4 days before threshing, serving as a desiccant. (1) But the withdrawal period – meaning the time needed to minimize chemical presence on the crop – is much longer, about 30 days.
‘Italy must take the lead in food safety policies and ensure that precautionary measures introduced at national level also cover the entry into Italy of foreign products treated in similar ways, such as wheat, lentils, peas and chickpeas from Canada where intensive use of glyphosate is made precisely in the pre-harvest phase‘. This is rightly stated by Gianni Cantele, president of Coldiretti Puglia.
Too bad that the governments Renziloni – always applauded by the national Coldiretti – have instead instigated the ratification of CETA. Without setting conditions to protect food safety and our supply chains.
Legumes and agrotoxics, not only Canada
The massive use of chemical desiccants is the practice in all those areas of the planet where the harsh climate does not allow legumes to dry in the sun and open air. In Northeast China – from which Italy imported over 2.4 thousand tons of legumes in 2017 – as well as in Kazakhstan. Lentils, peas and chickpeas ‘which once arrived in the Bel Paese become made in Italy’, denounces Angelo Corsetti, director of Coldiretti Puglia. ‘Every day, low-quality or even toxic foods from other countries risk ending up on our plates, as demonstrated by repeated alarms and seizures‘.
The petition #stopfakefood therefore aims to obtain the proper reconsideration, by Brussels, of the need to expand the indication obligations on the label of the origin of products and their raw materials. As the European Parliament has in turn urgedBut the Juncker Commission seems enslaved only to the demands of Big Food, as most recently demonstrated in the regulation on the origin of the primary ingredient.
To our readers – consumActors par excellence – the simplest invitation and advice. If the origin of the legume is not indicated on the label, leave it on the shelf. Our choice to purchase exclusively lentils, chickpeas, and peas of known origin, preferably Italian, is the only chance to force distributors to indicate the origin.
Notes
(1) Other molecules used as desiccants, besides glyphosate, are diquat, saflufenacil, glufosinate, flumioxazin, carfentrazone, benzovindiflupyr, and chlorpyrifos
Professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of journalistic investigations on food, she has published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
