Correcting the record

In a story that appeared Wednesday in the BDN about early detection and treatment of serious mental illness, The Associated Press, relying on figures from the Portland Identification and Early Referral project, misstated the expected rate of psychotic episodes occurring among individuals who have early symptoms of a psychotic disorder. The actual rate is 30 to 40 percent, not 60 to 70 percent, the project says.

In a Feb. 12 story, The Associated Press described pesticides used on flowers exported from Colombia as “potentially lethal.” While reporting that pesticides have sickened Colombian flower workers, the story should have added that no evidence exists that flowers treated with the chemicals pose a health risk to consumers. In reporting that about one-third of Colombia’s 600 flower farms belong to the flower exporters association Asocolflores, the story should have mentioned that those farms account for 75 percent of Colombia’s flower exports. And in reporting that a government arbiter ordered grower Flores de la Sabana to pay a pension to a disabled worker, it should have specified that the arbiter ordered the company’s insurer to make the payments.