Research Study Concludes That Pesticides Soon Penetrate an Apple’s Peel

By Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A researcher from the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) found that a type of agrochemical used to increase the preservation period of apples, eventually penetrates the fruit and it is not confined to the peel. The study was carried out in cooperation with a university in Louisiana, USA.

The research was conducted as a doctoral thesis by Igor Pereira. He explains that the product is used on apples to prevent their rotting during intercity transport.

“The research applied a fungicide on the apple peel in the post-harvest stage, to determine if this compound could penetrate it,” he explains.

A thin slice of the fruit was retrieved for the experiment. The test was performed on a device typically used to screen for cancer cells.

The results showed that the penetration of agrochemicals in the fruit increases over time: in the first 30 minutes, it is only found in the peel; after one day, it progresses one millimeter into the pulp; by the fourth day, it progresses by three millimeters.

According to UFG, the study was published in the American journal Analytical Chemistry. The thesis advisor and professor at the UFG Institute of Chemistry, Boniek Gontijo, explained the significance of the research.

“Unfortunately, we are consuming a large number of agrochemicals. This research is a warning, so that it may be an argument to signal this excessive release of agrochemicals,” he says.