Agrotóxicos nos alimentos: discussão de evidências científicas relacionadas com a saúde

Abstract

Pesticides are present in the production of most foods in Brazil and worldwide. Its mass use began in the so-called “Green Revolution”, with the aim of modernizing agriculture and increasing food productivity. However, over time, scientific studies have come to prove, in addition to the contamination of food, soil, water and air, its toxic effects on living beings. Critical analysis due to the deepening of scientific evidence is essential to enable the discussion of proposals and the implementation of viable actions, capable of meeting population demands for healthy food while guaranteeing quality and safety to health and the environment. Thus, this material gathers evidence and theoretical-practical discussions available in the scientific literature with the specific objectives of: (i) understanding the effects of chronic consumption of pesticide residues in food to verify that the maximum acceptable limits are safe and the proposed toxicological tests by public bodies and manufacturers are consistent with scientific evidence; (ii) analyzing the potential of organic crops as an agronomic alternative for the production of healthier, safer and quality foods, focusing on the composition of bioactive substances; (iii) studying alternatives and short-term strategies to be applied by consumers to reduce the concentration of pesticide residues in food; (iv) developing pedagogical material, accessible to the general population and professionals. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that conditions of chronic consumption of pesticides, like what the population is subjected to by the consumption of food contaminated with pesticide residues throughout life, can have harmful effects on health. These effects occurred in different body systems, the main evidence being related to disorders of the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular and urinary systems. In analyzing the potential of organic crops, studies have shown that the cultivation system has an impact on the synthesis of bioactive compounds, with organic crops being those that, on average, had higher concentrations of these substances, in addition to greater oxidative stability, highlighting the importance of the stimulus the production of these foods as one of the pillars for building healthy and sustainable eating practices as opposed to conventional agriculture. The reduction of pesticide residues by techniques such as washing in water and acidic, alkaline and detergent solutions, peeling, homogenization and cooking, can be an effective strategy for reducing pesticide residues. In some cases, these techniques may not be effective. Cooking, for example, in addition to leading to the formation of secondary metabolites of unknown nature, can promote the concentration of food by removing water, causing waste to be concentrated in the product. With these results, it was possible to elaborate a didactic-informative material scientifically based, which can serve as support for actions of Food and Nutritional Education that have as objective the formation of autonomous and critical subjects in their food choices, at the same time that contributes to achieving the objectives of the strategies to promote Food and Nutritional Security.