8. Recommendations for Specific Land-Use Scenarios (continued)

8e. Root Vegetables

Some root vegetables have the potential to take up lead from the soil. Lead concentrations exceeding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's in-house level of concern for lead in processed foods were found in a shipment of Washington root vegetables in 1998. That shipment was traced back to one commercial crop of carrots that had been grown on a former orchard site. The Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA) developed an internal task force to review and assess the scientific data and develop recommendations to address any possible future sources of contamination for root vegetables. Nearly all commercial food processors in Washington are associated with this organization. The Food and Drug Administration, through its Market Basket program, also continues to test foods marketed locally and nationally.

The NWFPA published Interim Recommendations (since finalized) on February 17, 1999 to inform commercial growers and processors about the possibility of risk from lead uptake when root vegetables are planted on old orchard sites. A copy of this advisory bulletin is included in Appendix L. The Task Force considered this voluntary, privately initiated effort and views it as a potential model for using private-sector efforts to prevent possible human exposure problems from arising. However, the Task Force did not have further information on the results of the voluntary action or additional Market Basket testing results. Accordingly, the Task Force recommends a survey to determine the effectiveness of the NWFPA advisory program, with an eye toward possibly using it as a model for similar programs in the future. The Task Force recommends that the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) request from NWFPA an analysis of the NWFPA voluntary program regarding its effectiveness in preventing human exposure to heavy metals in root crops.

The NWFPA bulletin, however, was distributed only to commercial processors. It is unlikely, due to the membership of the NWFPA, to have been distributed to home gardeners or local farmer's market growers whose properties may have become affected by area-wide soil contamination. The Task Force believes that home gardeners and local farmer's market growers may want to take precautions to avoid similar uptake problems. Information about protective measures-which may include testing soil, replacing soil, growing crops on raised beds with clean soil, using compost or manure to dilute concentrations, and other actions-should be developed and distributed to growers to help prevent consumption of root crops with elevated concentrations of lead and arsenic. Such information already is available from the Washington State University Extension Service, WSDA, or other agencies, and distribution of such information should be coordinated, wherever possible, with the other information distribution programs administered by Ecology, the Department of Health, and local health officials.

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