An interview with Ásta Heiðrúna E. Pétursdóttir, director of public health and food safety at Matís, was published in Bændablaðin last October 20. There, Ásta reports on the preliminary results of the research project "Fibre-rich and healthy skin? " which is sponsored by the Food Fund.
In the project Fiber-rich and healthy skin? By-products of fruits and vegetables are being studied to form skins and peels, which are usually thrown away. Various ways of utilizing these side products are being investigated, along with investigating the role of pesticides. Differences between pesticides in Icelandic and imported vegetables were studied and it was interesting to see that the results showed that there are more pesticides in imported vegetables than in Icelandic ones.
The results give us evidence of an increased use of pesticides, but as Ásta reports in the interview, more samples need to be taken in order to be able to draw conclusions from the results.
The interview in its entirety can be found in the 19th issue of the farmer's newspaper, on page 22, by clicking here