Zero Risk

The Delaney Clause, in section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, provides that no processed food tolerance may be approved for any chemical found to induce cancer in animals or humans at any level. This essentially means that our food safety system accepts "zero risk" or "no risk" with respect to chemical residues in processed foods. As technology has improved, our ability to detect minute amounts of chemical residues has increased, posing a challenge to the continued use of a variety of pesticides in farming because many pesticides are known carcinogens.

Close This Window

Go Back