Foodlaw – Chemical Paranoia

Sensationalist journalism contributes to these phobias, but the problem is deeper than that. For one thing, to be fair, the science itself is often unclear and far more uncertain than scientists want to admit. Name any food safety/nutrition controversy and I can easily provide lots of “objective” scientists on both sides of the issue. Moreover, there is so much misinformation in the popular press that the more you read, the less you are likely to know. Because of this, most consumers now equate “chemicals” with man-made synthetic chemicals, oblivious to the fact that the number of naturally occurring chemicals present in our food supply probably exceeds a million, vastly outnumbering the miniscule few that are man-made. The majority of these natural chemicals (perfectly acceptable in organic food) have never been subjected to any testing and are positively riddled with natural carcinogens. All of the hundreds of chemicals in a single cup of coffee are natural, and scientists estimate that 70 per cent of these will probably cause cancer in high doses in lab animal experiments. As cancer specialist Bruce Ames has said: “of all the dietary pesticides people eat, 99.99 per cent are ‘natural.’” Reading the popular press, most consumers could hardly know that all major health organizations agree that traces of synthetic chemicals in our diet do not pose a significant health risk.

Basic scientific illiteracy is further compounded by our collective problem with innumeracy. Analytical chemistry has advanced to the point that we can detect parts per trillion but cannot say that these levels are a health risk. And regulators continue to carry out huge recalls for trace amounts of contamination because the standard is zero, while reassuring the public that the food is perfectly safe (remember, one part per trillion is one second in 31,000 years). Most consumers cannot comprehend these tiny amounts so they continue to demand zero risk, even as zero keeps getting smaller. Is it any wonder the poor consumer is confused and suffering from acute chemical paranoia?

Ronald L. Doering, BA, LL.B, MA, LL.D, is a past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He practices food law in the Ottawa offices of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, and can be reached at: Ronald.doering@gowlings.com