P. M. BRIEFING : Little Alar Seen in Apple Crop

WASHINGTON — With this fall’s apple harvest setting a near record, government officials and environmentalists said today that consumers can be confident that the bountiful apple crop is virtually free of the controversial chemical Alar.

“They can be confident that the risk from Alar is substantially reduced, and we’re likely in the next two years to see the risk entirely eliminated,” said Janet Hathaway, an official of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.

“I’m certainly going to eat apples this year,” she said.

However, imported apple juice concentrates could continue to be tainted with Alar, she said. And she said several other chemicals used widely on fruits and vegetables, although not as potentially dangerous as Alar, are still a cause for concern.