SAN FRANCISCO - November 17 - Food safety and chemical exposure risks are making America's food holiday a new kind of complicated. With Thanksgiving around the corner, budgets tight and pesticide-linked diseases (including cancer, Parkinson's, diabetes and autism) at historic highs, families looking to gather and give thanks face a dilemma:  how to celebrate in ways that are at once healthy, affordable, green and abundant?

A new iPhone App helps conscientious food shoppers sort green-washing and scare-mongering from differences that make a difference by using science and decades of experience in the field of pesticide reform. By linking pesticide residue and toxicology data from dozens of sources in a uniquely searchable format, Pesticide Action Network's What's On My Food? website and App show what pesticides are found on each food, in what amount, and - for the first time - links those residues to the health effects associated with exposure to each of the chemicals.

"This tool gives shoppers easy access to information on pesticides that's been buried deep in government reports for years," says Kristin Schafer, Senior Policy Analyst at Pesticide Action Network. "We're working toward a future where we don't have to worry about chemicals on our food. But for now, the Whats On My Food? tools help shoppers make healthy choices for their families that also help move the whole food system in the right direction."

The newly updated website and free iPhone application present pesticide residue data for 87 foods sampled by scientists at the US Department of Agriculture. It then highlights what health problems have been linked to the chemicals found, including cancer, damage to the nervous system, and harm to the reproductive, developmental and hormone systems. The site notes that while most residues are found at low levels, little is known about the combined effects of the multiple pesticides consumed in a daily diet of conventional foods.

In the Take Action section of the site, Pesticide Action Network calls on consumers not only to vote with their dollars by choosing organic foods whenever possible, but also to become involved as "food citizens" demanding a clean, green and fair food production system.

Resources:

Download the What's On My Food? iPhone App: www.whatsonmyfood.org/iphoneapp.jsp

What's On My Food? Database: www.whatsonmyfood.org

MomRising Blog: Pumpkin pie and pesticides? New iPhone App for healthy food lovers

U.S. Department of Agriculture site re: food residue testing

Kristin Schafer, Senior Policy Analyst, Pesticide Action Network, kristins@panna.org, 415-981-1771, ext 323

Kathryn Gilje, Executive Director, Pesticide Action Network, Kathryn@panna.org, 415-981-1771, ext 329.