Who monitors the pesticides in our food

A.� The government has set up a Residues Committee which reports every autumn on the amount of pesticies in our food. The detail varies every year, but consumer watchdogs say the findings are always alarming. The chemicals used are approved by the Advisory Commitee on Pesticides, whose job it is to approve new pesticides and review the safety of old ones. The procedure is a complicated and lengthy one and involves detailed research and tests.

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Q.� How much of our food contains pesticides

A.� � According to the government document, last year 67 per cent of grapes, 72 per cent of apples and 71 per cent of the pears we ate in the UK contained residues. The government's pesticide usage figures testify to the fact that Cox's apples can be sprayed 16 times in one season, with up to 36 pesticide formulations. Carrots are typically sprayed with an average of four insecticides, three herbicides and two fungicides -�the first four belonging to the chemical group known as organophososphates - highly toxic chemicals originally developed as nerve gas by the Nazis.

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Q.� Why are pesticides used

A.� More than 300 toxic chemicals are currently licensed for use in UK agriculture. Since the end of the Second World War, the reasoning has always been that pesticides were an invisible aid to food production. According to the British Crop Protection Association, which represents the agrochemical industry, the "considerable improvement in life expectancy is due in no small part to the availability of high quality, safe food and the discovery and use of effective crop protection".

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Q.� Are pesticides banned in organic farming

A.� It is not strictly true that organic farmers and growers do not use pesticides. Seven pesticides, as opposed to the conventional farmer's 300, are approved for restricted use on organic crops. But where residues are rarely found in organic produce, and where they are, this is usually attributed to environmental pollution, such as spray-drift from neighbouring conventional farms or to cross-contamination of organic and non-organic ingredients during processing.

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By Katharine MacColl