The labels remain silent. Thus, under the unaware eyes of consumers, supermarkets are invaded by lentils Made in Canada, dried with glyphosate and other agrotoxins. And overseas imports threaten the survival of crops in Italy. From the Altamura IGP lentil Consortium in Puglia – the leading Italian region in production (15,900 tons, 13 million euros) – the alarm call.
Legumes, 1 package out of 3 comes from afar
Italian legume imports from Canada recorded double-digit growth in 2017, +16%. 29,200 tons, compared to 22,000 in 2016.
Istat data – although still being defined – show that one in three packages of lentils, chickpeas, and peas is of foreign origin. But the consumer is unaware of this.
Even less is it explained to the consumer that legumes imported from cold countries are systematically treated with various agrotoxins – desiccants and pesticides – even just 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 agrotoxic is sprayed on plants up to 4 days before threshing, serving as a desiccant. (1) But the withdrawal periods – that is, the time needed to minimize chemical presence on the crop – are much longer, around 30 days.
‘Italy must take the lead in food safety policies and ensure that precautionary measures introduced at the national level also concern the entry into Italy of foreign products treated in similar ways, such as wheat, lentils, peas, and chickpeas coming from Canada where glyphosate is intensively used precisely in the pre-harvest phase‘. This is rightly stated by Gianni Cantele, president of Coldiretti Puglia.
It's a pity that the governments Renziloni – always applauded by the national Coldiretti – instead encouraged the ratification of CETA. Without imposing conditions to protect food safety and our supply chains.
Legumes and agrotoxins, 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 2,400 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 shown by repeated alerts and seizures‘.
The petition #stopfakefood therefore aims to obtain the rightful reconsideration by Brussels of the need to expand the labeling obligations on the label of the origin of products and their raw materials. As the European Parliament has in turn urged. But 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 buy exclusively lentils, chickpeas, and peas from known origins, 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.
