Pesto cancer link rebuffed

By PETER POPHAM in Rome

A bitter row has broken out in Italy over the alleged toxicity of one of the nation's favourite foods - pesto.

The Genovese sauce prepared for centuries in Ligurian kitchens contains a carcinogenic ingredient, according to a top Italian scientist. And the tastier the pesto, the greater the danger.

The charge is not new: it was in 1999, according to Professor Francesco Sala of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, that researchers discovered by chance that the best pesto may also be the most hazardous. "The discovery was made at Genoa's Centre for Biotechnology," Professor Sala said.

He said the research's objective was to explain why pesto doc (pesto denominazione origine controllo) was better than other types.

Pesto doc uses basil grown in the region where the pesto recipe originated and picked when the plant is young and small.

"The substance that was isolated, in fact, makes the difference. In a plate of spaghetti with pesto doc there is a concentration of methyl-eugenol 600 times higher than the accepted safety limit. Which is not to say that it produces tumours, but that it increases the probability of having them."

The danger zone, according to Professor Sala, is in basil plants up to 10cm high. Using adult basil, he went on, the risk is eliminated.

Why? "The methyl-eugenol protects the young plant from insects and bacteria. Then, as it grows, the molecule loses its methyl and becomes harmless." And also, the aficionados claim, becomes far less appetising.

But with their full frontal assault on one of Italy's proudest food inventions, Professor Sala and his colleagues may have bitten off more than they can chew. The guardians of the pesto tradition were quick to condemn the new attack.

"We're on our own," say Sergio and Riccardo Bertola, chefs of Genoa's famous Gran Gotto restaurant.

"The big firms want to sell their "pesto sauce" made with Kenyan basil and preservatives, instead of sea salt. They dragged out this stuff [about pesto being carcinogenic] years ago, then they said it wasn't true.

"And with all the crap that's going round is it really necessary to beat up on pesto? Okay, we're not professors. But we've been making pesto like this for centuries."

The region of Liguria recently won a battle over the definition of pesto, forcing Nestle to withdraw a pesto sauce "alla Genovese" made with basil grown from German and Swiss seeds.

EU recognition of the unique Ligurian provenance of true pesto is expected imminently.

At the same time Liguria and 13 other Italian regions recently declared themselves "GM-free zones".

The reiteration last month of the highly controversial claims about pesto came as part of a last-minute offensive by pro-GM scientists to stop the Government from banning the growing of GM crops in Italy.

The new legislation, due last month, is expected to be presented to Parliament next week.

The scientists' argument is that, while GM foods can be eaten with absolute confidence, given the amount of research done on them, the "natural, organic" foods vaunted by Italy's army of food lovers may contain all manner of hidden hazards.

The publication in 1999 of the claim that Italy's best pesto might be bad for you sparked a furious controversy, after which, Professor Sala maintains, "everyone was told to shut up".

The reiteration of the charges this week came as the professor's Veronesi Foundation published in Milan a pro-GM manifesto Food Safety and GM Organisms, edited by 19 Italian scientific organisations claiming to represent 10,000 researchers.

What's in pesto?

A ground-up mix of fresh young basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil.

How could it cause cancer?

Pesto made traditionally with young leaves contains a carcinogenic ingredient, methyl-eugenol, which increases the risk of tumours.

What's behind the claims?

Pro-GM scientists trying to make a point - that so-called "natural" foods can be just as bad, or even worse, for you than genetically modified foods.

- INDEPENDENT