A book published tomorrow claims that food and domestic items are packed with dangerous chemicals. Is our weekly shop really killing us? JIM GREENHALF reports.

At every turn we are subject to scares about health, diet and welfare; so much so that it's a wonder that anyone bothers to get out of bed and venture out of doors.

The latest contribution to the climate of fear that surrounds us like invisible smog comes out tomorrow. What's In This Stuff? is the inelegant title of a book by Pat Thomas, health editor of The Ecologist magazine.

Among her allegations is that pre-packed lettuce is washed in a chlorine solution 20 times more concentrated than in the average swimming-pool.

A study of eye shadows, she says, found that three-quarters of them contained heavy metals including lead, cobalt, nickel, chromium and arsenic.

Similarly, she warns against using floor cleaners, detergents and air fresheners and encourages people to make their own alternatives.

Hot water and vinegar make an useful floor cleaner. Half a cup of borax in hot water makes an adequate floor disinfectant.

Air fresheners, she says, are made from neurotoxic solvents and synthetic fragrances that can cause headaches, mood swings, memory loss and chronic fatigue.

Make your own instead, says the author, using baking soda mixed well with ten to 15 drops of your favourite essential oils.

As for foods: "Some very high-priced, name-brand convenience foods are full of the worst kind of additives, while some of the more moderately priced, non-named brands may be perfectly acceptable.

"Equally, some organic foods, especially cakes and biscuits, can contain more sugar and fat than conventional brands," she said.

She advises people to buy food locally from farmers' markets, make use of local delivery schemes and to eat seasonally when various foods are at their peak taste.

Aware that she is likely to be accused of scaremongering, she maintains that her intention is to empower people to make better informed choices.

Trouble is, the head of the shops and stores organisation, the British Retail Corporation, and one Bradford-based food scientist both said, independently of each other, that Pat Thomas is engaged in scare-mongering.

"There's a name for it which one day I hope will find its way into the Oxford English Dictionary," said Dr Richard North, formerly a professional food standards adviser.

"Pat Thomas is creating a fear of the unknown. Half-formed invisible fears in the imagination are turned into substance. She's exploiting people's irrational fears.

"Lettuces are washed with sodium hypochlorite or citric acid. The latter is more expensive and not as effective. Sodium hypochlorite leaves a residue, yes: it is called salt, which dissolves in water, leaving a clean, safe product that is not going to make anyone ill.

"Yes, there are some extremely nasty chemicals. Yes, there are problems with some. Yes, there are abuses. What is virtually impossible to do with any degree of accuracy is to predict harm or safety with chemicals.

"People respond in different ways to chemicals. Warfarin kills rats but people with heart problems take it. What may be safe for 99 per cent of the population may be harmful to the other one per cent.

"We are now in a position where regulations do more harm than good. There is a Yorkshire cucumber grower who found that ordinary spray-on starch was more effective at killing bugs than toxic pesticide.

"But because starch was not registered as a pesticide he was told it was illegal to use it as a pesticide and was threatened with prosecution.

"Pat Thomas is raising all sorts of spurious scares that do not merit attention. People like her do more harm than good," he said.

Dr Kevin Hawkins, formerly leader of Bradford Council's Conservative group and now head of the British Retail Corporation in London, was equally scathing.

"Any suggestion that a reputable retailer is doing anything illegal is absolute rubbish. The chemical content of food and non-food substances are subject to the Cosmetics Act and a whole raft of food regulations coming out of Europe governing food additives and labelling.

"Take what she says about eye shadows. Boots and other big pharmaceutical companies are governed by the Cosmetics Act. You're talking about minute quantities in these non-food products and the same thing applies for detergents and floor cleaners. They are subject to periodic testing by independent auditors," he said.

But as boss of the British Retail Corporation he would say that, wouldn't he?

"Yes I would. It happens to be the truth," he replied. "The penalties are severe. Consumer confidence, once lost, is very hard to get back.

"A year last April there was a scare about a red food substance called Sudan 1 which was imported from India and used in Worcester Sauce. The Food Standards Agency said it was no threat to health even though there was a tiny element of toxic stuff.

"Someone would have to have eight pints of Worcester Sauce every day for 20 years to feel any after-effects.

"In the early Nineties there was an issue about Perrier Water. Benzine was detected in a consignment and Perrier made the classic error of trying to bluff their way through.

"The consequence was that Perrier sales fell off the cliff and to this day haven't recovered their market share. It shows you what happens if someone accidentally makes a mistake and does not come clean.

"The whole system is geared to ensure that even accidental transgressions are picked up and sorted out.

"As to what she says about farmers' markets, the law applied to them is somewhat more permissive than to a normal food retailer. Some stuff is still not refrigerated and open to passing flies. You've got to be very careful.

"A lot of farmers do take a lot of trouble, but I have been to some where if a food standards officer was passing he would not be happy."

Two years ago the T&A reported that the Bradford-based United Co-operatives was among the first wave of retailers to ban a range of toxic substances used in domestic products such as washing up liquid and fabric conditioners.

It also set up a panel of experts to help define new ethical standards for the Co-op's 4,500 branded products.

The Co-op recognised that today's consumers were no longer passive buyers and expected higher standards of integrity.