Andrew Horvath: Tribune report about strawberry pesticide ‘biased’
BY ANDREW HORVATH
Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 5, 2015
I am writing this letter in response to Yvette Hammett’s Aug. 30 article “Neighbors raise stink over strawberry pesticide” (front page). The article is biased toward a small number of Hillsborough residents who have made a number of unsubstantiated claims for the past two strawberry seasons.
The article is about a product called Paladin. The Paladin product is based on Dimethyl Disulfide, a naturally occurring compound found in many foods: garlic, cheese, milk, broccoli and others.
We have addressed many frequently asked questions at: www.Paladin.com/Questions-Florida.
The Paladin product does have a low odor threshold, but as confirmed by the Florida Department of Health, “Detecting an odor does not mean that harmful amounts of DMDS are being inhaled.”
The Florida Department of Health report released earlier this year actually stated that there were zero cases of “confirmed” pesticide poisoning, and zero cases of “probable” pesticide poisoning.
Some of the individuals Ms. Hammett references as reporting health concerns to the Florida Department of Health have done so prior to the use of the Paladin product in the area. In these circumstances, it is absolutely impossible that our product was the cause for any health concerns. The disconnect between the timing of the alleged health concerns and product use was clearly communicated to Ms. Hammett during her tour of Mr. Young’s fields last week.
Further, Ms. Hammett stated that “… farmers were ordered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to switch to a thicker, impermeable plastic sheeting to cover the raised planting beds, to ensure that very little Paladin escapes.” In truth, this change in practice was proactively driven by Arkema, and approved by FDACS. The change in practice was done after the new film technology was fully evaluated and confirmed a safe and beneficial practice for all stakeholders.
No one lives closer to these fields than Mr. Young and his family. Arkema and Mr. Young have made a consistent effort to be responsible stewards of the land and air and have made efforts to address any concerns expressed by community members.
All applications have fully complied with the label and have used good agricultural practices, deploying the most technically sophisticated equipment in the market. Arkema invested more than 10 years in researching the safety of the product before receiving our U.S. and Florida labels. Arkema’s Paladin product stewardship program is one of the most advanced and complete programs in the United States.
Andrew Horvath is business manager for Arkema.
Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 5, 2015
I am writing this letter in response to Yvette Hammett’s Aug. 30 article “Neighbors raise stink over strawberry pesticide” (front page). The article is biased toward a small number of Hillsborough residents who have made a number of unsubstantiated claims for the past two strawberry seasons.
The article is about a product called Paladin. The Paladin product is based on Dimethyl Disulfide, a naturally occurring compound found in many foods: garlic, cheese, milk, broccoli and others.
We have addressed many frequently asked questions at: www.Paladin.com/Questions-Florida.
The Paladin product does have a low odor threshold, but as confirmed by the Florida Department of Health, “Detecting an odor does not mean that harmful amounts of DMDS are being inhaled.”
The Florida Department of Health report released earlier this year actually stated that there were zero cases of “confirmed” pesticide poisoning, and zero cases of “probable” pesticide poisoning.
Some of the individuals Ms. Hammett references as reporting health concerns to the Florida Department of Health have done so prior to the use of the Paladin product in the area. In these circumstances, it is absolutely impossible that our product was the cause for any health concerns. The disconnect between the timing of the alleged health concerns and product use was clearly communicated to Ms. Hammett during her tour of Mr. Young’s fields last week.
Further, Ms. Hammett stated that “… farmers were ordered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to switch to a thicker, impermeable plastic sheeting to cover the raised planting beds, to ensure that very little Paladin escapes.” In truth, this change in practice was proactively driven by Arkema, and approved by FDACS. The change in practice was done after the new film technology was fully evaluated and confirmed a safe and beneficial practice for all stakeholders.
No one lives closer to these fields than Mr. Young and his family. Arkema and Mr. Young have made a consistent effort to be responsible stewards of the land and air and have made efforts to address any concerns expressed by community members.
All applications have fully complied with the label and have used good agricultural practices, deploying the most technically sophisticated equipment in the market. Arkema invested more than 10 years in researching the safety of the product before receiving our U.S. and Florida labels. Arkema’s Paladin product stewardship program is one of the most advanced and complete programs in the United States.
Andrew Horvath is business manager for Arkema.
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