Concerns grow over pesticides in produce

Concerns over pesticide residues on nonorganic fruits and vegetables have been growing over the past decade. Organophosphates, a common class of pesticides, are of particular concern, as they were originally developed to kill mammals.

Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate made by Dow Chemical Co., is one of the most common pesticides in use in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) almost banned chlorpyrifos, but Dow won permission for the pesticide’s continued agricultural application by voluntarily removing it from products sold directly to consumers.