Recent stories about grapes laced with cyanide and apples treated with cancer-causing pesticides have caused alarm to many Americans.

Soon, if a bill is passed, which calls for all food items to be labeled with the chemicals used on them, Illinois consumers will know what they are buying.

Some of the chemicals used to help process and preserve these foods are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

In order to inform consumers of possible health risks, The Food Toxic Disclosure Act recently was introduced to the Illinois General Assembly.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Howard Broodside, D-Chicago, and State Reps. Ellis Levin, D-Chicago and Peg McDonnell, D-Ottawa, comes as a result of a recent Chilean grape scare and a national scare of Alar used on apples.

According to the Rockford Register Star, the Illinois Public Action Council is pushing for the passage of the bill.

Some area farmers and farm officials, however, are not aware of the new bill introduced by the three Illinois legislators.

Dave Woodson, extension adviser of the agriculture department at the DeKalb County Homemakers Extension Association, said he is not aware of the proposed bill.

Shawn Skau, assistant manager of Pick ‘n Save, 2500 Sycamore Road, DeKalb, also said he is unaware of the proposed bill.

Edna Askelson, owner of Honey Hill Orchard, Waterman Road, Waterman, said she does not know of the proposed bill. However, because safe sprays are used at the orchard, the bill will have little effect on the orchard’s daily operations, she said.

Askelson said the sprays she and her husband use at the orchard wash off or deactivate in one day. “We have never used Alar. We feel we’re as careful as we possibly can be,” she said.

The Askelsons operate the only orchard in the area which does not use Alar, a growth enhancer presumed to be cancer causing, she said.

Askelson said she does not think the bill will “do any good.” Pesticide use is necessary to produce the fruit, she said.

She said that apples which are not sprayed will have worm holes in them and will not be edible. “You can’t get by without it (pesticide spray) otherwise we’ll have mass starvation,” Askelson said.

David Stahr, the IPAC research director, said the goal of the group is not to ban pesticides or to limit the ones that can be used, but to inform consumers of what they are buying, the Register Star reported.

As an extra precautionary measure, the Askelsons stop spraying the apples two weeks before the apples go to the market, she said.

The names of the pesticides that the Askelsons use are posted in the apple barn, Askelson said. Also, the Askelsons do not spray the strawberries and the raspberries that they sell. Askelson said it is difficult to wash the sprays off of those fruits.

Askelson also warns consumers about waxed fruit. She said the apples at her orchard are not waxed because the wax seals the sprays in and will not allow the pesticides to be washed off. Many grocery stores wax their fruits and vegetables, she said.

Pick ‘n Save does not use wax on their fresh fruits and vegetables, Skau said.

While Askelson believes the bill, if passed, will be ineffective, she said the U.S. government should limit which pesticides can be used.

Askelson said at the orchard, they are “as safe as can be.”