Spreading alarm

Sheep dips containing pyrethroid pesticide, which have replaced
organophosphates on farms across Europe, may lead to an increase in food
poisoning. Although safer for farmers, pyrethroids are more toxic to wildlife,
so the British government last year instructed farmers to dispose of used dip by
diluting it with slurry and spraying it on the land. But Kirk Semple of
Lancaster University reports that a dose of pyrethroids causes a big jump in
pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli living in the slurry. He
argues that this could increase the risk of food poisoning for humans if the
bacteria reach…