Hi Celivia

Signatory countries to the Stockholm Convention, earlier this decade, agreed to eliminate or phase out the "dirty dozen" of organochlorine chemicals. The bad boys - Australia and the US, sought and received exemptions for the nasty organochlorine chemical "Mirex" used for termites and on mango trees in Australia.

I believe our Australian regulators remain captured by the influential chemical manufacturers and for that reason, vigilance is required by consumers.

And this year, Bayer et al lost to the EU endosulfan ban appeal:

"A group of firms led by Bayer CropScience has lost a legal bid to overturn an EU ban on the pesticide endosulfan, reports ENDS Europe Daily. In the ruling on September 9, the European Court of Justice dismissed all arguments brought by the plaintiffs against the European Commission's December 2005 decision to end marketing of endosulfan.

"The firms had cited 'procedural flaws and unfairness of the evaluation procedure' among their reasons for challenging the decision." Endosulfan is a highly toxic nerve poison, one of the antiquated persistent organochlorine pesticides nominated for global elimination under the Stockholm Convention. It is currently under review by the U.S. EPA."

Australian pesticides taint NZ produce:

"In NZ, Steffan Browing of the Soil & Health Association said the discovery of Australian zucchinis bearing more than twice the Maximum Residue Level of pesticides shows voluntary labeling is not working. "These results support our call for mandatory labeling," he said. Australia's Green Party has submitted a petition with 39,000 names calling on Parliament to support mandatory labeling."

In the Philippines:

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/07032008/nation03.html

Apologies to greenthumb for remaining somewhat off topic. Hopefully he may consider an additional research paper - perhaps titled "The Poisoning of the Public Down Under?"

Thank you, Dickie, I'm really glad that I'm aware of these facts now.