Fungicides Are Responsible for Creating Strawberries With Subdued Flavor and Sweetness

Have you ever bit into a plump, red strawberry only to discover that it was bland and watery? Certain pesticides could be to blame.

A team from the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry discovered that two common strawberry fungicides can affect cellular mechanisms, resulting in berries with diminished flavor and sweetness, as well as lower nutritional value.

Bland and watery strawberries?

(Photo : Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media)

The flavor profile of any produce, including berries, is determined by its taste and smell; sweetness is frequently determined by the amount of dissolved glucose or fructose, and a distinct aroma is produced by volatile compounds such as esters and terpenes, as per ScienceDaily.

Furthermore, many fruits are high in nutrients such as vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants.

However, because fungicides are designed to disrupt the cellular processes of harmful fungi, they may inadvertently interfere with crop processes, inhibiting the production of these important flavor and nutritional compounds.

So Jinling Diao and colleagues wanted to look into how two commonly used pesticides on strawberries, boscalid (BOS) and difenoconazole (DIF), affect specific molecular pathways in the berries.

The researchers grew three groups of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) in identical conditions, with two of the groups receiving BOS or DIF while the berries were still green.

Even after treatment, the fully mature berries were the same size and color as those grown without pesticide. However, beneath the surface, the team discovered a number of chemical changes caused by both fungicides:

Soluble sugar and nutrient levels, such as sucrose and vitamin C, were reduced. Sugars were converted into acids, reducing sweetness even further. The amount of volatile compounds in the berry changed, dulling its taste and aroma.

The researchers discovered that BOS had a direct effect on the regulation of genes involved in cellular pathways involved in the production of sugars, volatile compounds, nutrients, and amino acids.

Finally, in a blind taste test, the untreated strawberries were consistently preferred. According to the researchers, this research could help farmers make pesticide decisions.

Also Read: Modern Pesticides' Harmful Effects on Bees Worsened in the Last Decade

Are Pesticides in Foods Harming Your Health?

Various types of studies are used to determine what pesticide levels are harmful, as per Healthline.

Some examples include measuring pesticide levels in people who were unintentionally exposed to too much pesticide, animal testing, and researching the long-term health of people who work with pesticides.

This data is combined to establish safe exposure limits. The "lowest observed adverse effect level," or LOAEL, of a pesticide, for example, is the lowest dose that causes even the most subtle symptom. The phrase "no observed adverse effect level," or NOAEL, is also used occasionally.

There are several issues with the tools and procedures used to determine pesticide safety limits.

To begin, some researchers have noted that regulatory agencies frequently rely on incomplete or inconsistent data to set pesticide safety limits.

According to one report, the EPA originally set the NOAEL for the controversial insecticide chlorpyrifos at 0.03 mg/kg.

However, after conducting a second analysis using additional data not included in the initial report, researchers discovered that the correct NOAEL was much lower, at 0.014 mg/kg. Many regulatory authorities also rely on data from industry-funded studies to determine toxicity levels, which are frequently misleading and may be biased.

Another problem with pesticide safety limits is that some pesticides, both synthetic and organic, contain heavy metals such as copper, which accumulate in the body over time.

In fact, one study of 162 people discovered that vineyard farmers had 2-4 times higher levels of heavy metals such as lead, zinc, and copper in their blood due to pesticide use than a control group.