TV & VIDEO - May 8, 1989

The Washington State Fruit Commission, a trade association of growers, has withdrawn $71,300 worth of television ads for Northwest cherries from three CBS affiliates to protest a “60 Minutes” report about the chemical Alar. The Feb. 26 report dealt with a Natural Resources Defense Council study that concluded that eating apples treated with Alar, which is used to control ripening, increased cancer risks for children. Although federal regulators have declared apples safe to eat, growers contend that they have lost millions of dollars as a result. The association has withdrawn the cherry ads from CBS affiliates in St. Louis, Atlanta and Tampa “to voice displeasure over the way the CBS broadcast of the ’60 Minutes’ program chose to sensationalize the Alar story,” spokesman Pat Dunlop said Friday.