Just how the rocket-fuel chemical perchlorate ended up in Salinas Valley lettuce -- and whether it poses any health risks -- remained a mystery Tuesday to local and state officials.
"We don't really understand where it is coming from," said Bob Roach, assistant Monterey County agricultural commissioner. "It's not believed to be present in our water, although I can't find any data that confirms that."
In a survey of lettuce, milk and bottled water in 19 states across the country, the Food and Drug Administration found low levels of the chemical in nearly all of the lettuce and milk samples tested between December 2003 and August. Only one bottled water sample tested showed any presence of perchlorate.
In analyzing green leaf, iceberg, red leaf and romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley, the FDA found levels between 1 part per billion (ppb) -- about one drop of water in a swimming pool -- to 29.6 ppb of perchlorate.
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