Are Your Apples Full of Antibiotic

Drugs?
Posted on: Sunday, November 9th 2014 at 12:00 pm
Written By: Margie King, Health Coach

Hard as you try, you may not be able to avoid antibiotics

completely. In fact, you're probably even getting a low
dose of antibiotics in your apples and cabbage.

Our world is awash in antibiotics. Doctors overprescribe

antibiotics for viral infections. Every hand soap, cleanser and
first-aid cream adds antibiotics. Farm animals are pumped full of
the drugs.

It's a serious problem. All those antibiotics have led to mutating

microbes that resist modern drugs. Infections from these
superbugs are dangerous and life threatening. In 2005, almost
19,000 people in the U.S. died from the superbug MRSA
(methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus).

Hard as you try, you may not be able to avoid antibiotics

completely. In fact, you're probably even getting a low dose of
antibiotics in your apples and cabbage.

How Do You Get Antibiotics In The

Produce Aisle?
Some fruits, like blueberries, use antibiotics as a pesticide to
combat the growth of bacteria, fungi, and algae. In addition to
contributing to antibiotic resistance these residues on fruit can
cause allergic reactions.

A case study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology,

reported on a 10 year-old girl who had an anaphylactic reaction
after eating blueberry pie. Doctors determined that blueberries in
the pie were contaminated with streptomycin.[1]

Other fruits, especially apples and pears, are vulnerable to a

bacterial infection called "fire blight." It spreads quickly and can
even wipe out whole orchards. For decades, some growers have
sprayed fruit blossoms with streptomycin and oxytetracycline to
control the disease.

How do you avoid these drugs on your apples and pears? Up until
just last month (October 2014), buying organics did NOT protect
you. Growers had an exemption allowing them to use antibiotics
on apples and pears and still sell their fruits with an organic
label. That exemption has now expired so buying organic is one
way to protect yourself and your family.

If you do buy conventional apples, some of the most likely to be

sprayed with antibiotics include Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Golden
Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeygold, Pink Lady, and Rome
Beauty. Safer choices for apples include varieties that are
naturally resistant to the fire blight. They include Jonafree,
Cameo, Melrose, Empire, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonagold,
Liberty, McIntosh, and Winesap.

Pears most likely to be sprayed with antibiotics include D'Anjou,

Bartlett, and Bosc. Resistant varieties that are less likely to be
sprayed include Honeysweet, Magness, and Seckel.

But There Are Other Ways

Antibiotics Are Sneaking Into Your
Vegetables – Even The Organic
Ones.
Studies show that manure from animals given antibiotics is a
source. Close to 80% of all antibiotics produced in the U.S. are
used in farm animals. And they're not just used to treat disease
and prevent infections. They're primarily used to help animals
gain weight faster. Manure from those animals can contaminate
crops with antibiotics.

In 2005, researchers from the University of Minnesota planted

corn, green onion and cabbage in manure-treated soil. After just
six weeks the crops had absorbed chlortetracycline, a drug used
to treat livestock diseases.

In another study in 2007, the researchers planted corn, lettuce

and potatoes in soil treated with hog manure. The crops
contained sulfamethazine, another drug commonly used in
livestock. They suggested that underground crops like potatoes,
radishes, and carrots may absorb even more antibiotics from the
soil.[2]

So while buying organic helps to reduce the antibiotics on your

plate, some organics may still contain low levels of
antibiotics. Food grown using antibiotic-containing manure can
still receive the USDA organic label.

Not all organic growers use manure with antibiotics, but many
do. This is another good reason to buy from a farmer you know.

[1] American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

(ACAAI). "Allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in foods?
You may have to watch what your fruits and veggies eat."
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 September 2014.
[2] "Antibiotics in Agriculture." Organic Trade Association,
http://www.ota.com/organic/benefits/antibiotics.html