P.E.I. will create a task force to address rising levels of nitrates in drinking water within the next two weeks, and the government wants potato processors to be involved.

'Cavendish Farms and McCain's [are] not lily white on this.'— Agriculture Minister Jim Bagnall

Agriculture Minister Jim Bagnall said Tuesday that nitrate levels started rising on P.E.I. about 20 years ago, around the time Island farmers started catering to french fry makers like Cavendish Farms and McCain's.

Bagnall said that industry's demand for bigger potatoes, ones that make french fries that stand up out of the box, meant using more chemical fertilizers, and that means more nitrates.

"We will be expecting the food processors like Cavendish Farms and McCain's to get involved because they're not lily white on this, either," said Bagnall.

"We're told it's nitrates from chemical fertilizers that's part of the problem here, so the time has come to tackle it."

Read the article at:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/04/18/processor...