Toxic spray coming your way: Government flouts its own pest control norms by illegally promoting harmful chemicals

Toxic spray coming your way: Government flouts its own pest control norms by illegally promoting harmful chemicals 

The regulatory system for chemical pesticides in India is in a shambles.

Government agencies are themselves blatantly violating the national law meant to regulate the use of pesticides.

The study has found that various government agencies are promoting the use of harmful pesticides

Pesticide use in the country is regulated by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC), a wing under the agriculture ministry.

Every pesticide being used in the country has to be registered with CIBRC and the registration is pest and crop specific.

However, this system is being openly flouted by government organisations which are recommending use of pesticides for crops and pests not approved by CIBRC, according to a review of pesticides being used for 11 important crops in the country – wheat, paddy, apple, mango, potato, cauliflower, black pepper, cardamom, tea, sugarcane and cotton.

The pesticide recommendations made by state agriculture universities, agriculture departments and other boards for a crop do not match those pesticides registered with CIBRC, CSE has found.

“This is completely illegal. A particular pesticide may be registered for a particular pest and particular crop, and its use in any other way is violation of law”, said Chandra Bhushan, who led the CSE study.

For instance, the Punjab Agricultural University has recommended 40 pesticides for wheat, of which 11 pesticides are not registered by CIBRC for wheat.

The agriculture department in Madhya Pradesh recommends 29 pesticides for wheat, of which nine are not registered.

The NHB recommends 19 pesticides for apple, of which 8 are not registered.

Similarly, just one of the seven NHB recommended pesticides for cauliflower is registered with CIBRC.

Violations are seen across states and across all crops. “What we are seeing currently is indiscriminate recommendations by universities and agriculture departments. Indiscriminate use follows naturally”, said Kavitha Kuruganti of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture.

“As it is, we have approved a large number of chemicals, including known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors and pesticides banned elsewhere. There is no assessment being done for synergistic effects of cocktails of chemicals being used”. 

The CIBRC registers pesticides while the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sets the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) of pesticides for crops it has been registered for.

Of 234 registered pesticides, FSSAI has not set MRLs for 59 pesticides.

A review of MRL status of 20 commonly used and recommended pesticides showed that these limits for 18 pesticides are not complete.

MRLs have been set for broad groups like fruits, vegetables and food grains rather than specific crops while the pesticides have been registered for specific crops.

“A crop is not supposed to contain residues of a pesticide, which is not registered for it. Otherwise, it will be considered adulterated. If pesticides recommended by state and other bodies are different from the CIBRC registration then the crops produced will be considered adulterated despite farmers following recommendations,” Bhushan said.

Horsemeat tests find no bute traces

More than 5000 tests have been carried out on beef products so far. Results from the latest council tests show no traces of the veterinary drug bute have been found in any products contaminated with horsemeat.

However the results showed 10 out of 362 beef products had tested positive for the presence of horse or pig DNA.

Five had already been named and they include Asda beef cannelloni, Apetito beef lasagne and Ikea meatballs.

The results of the other five samples are being challenged and awaiting the outcome of further independent tests.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has requested that local authorities test minced beef products and ready meals sold at shops, wholesalers and catering suppliers for horse and pig DNA above a 1% threshold.

The UK-wide sampling programme was introduced after horsemeat was found in a number of processed beef products across Europe, raising questions about the complexity of the food chain.

Tests ongoing

More than 5,000 tests have been carried out so far and these latest results confirmed the presence of pork in Asda Spaghetti and Meatballs, Asda Beef Cannelloni and Apetito Beef Lasagne.

A Whitbread burger and Ikea meatballs were confirmed as containing horsemeat. Both of these products have been previously reported by the food industry’s own results.

All five products have already been withdrawn from sale.

Experts say horsemeat itself should be as safe as beef to eat, but there is concern that some horses are given a painkiller called bute (phenylbutazone) which can be dangerous to humans.

The FSA website lists a range of products from 15 companies that have been found to contain horsemeat and which have all been tested for bute. None has come back positive but several tests are still ongoing.

The Whitbread burger tested negative for bute and test results on the Ikea meatballs have not yet come back.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said in a written statement that the FSA would next publish a summary of ongoing testing for horse DNA in processed beef products in early June, and would continue to report individual products testing positive above the 1% limit as soon as they were confirmed by the food industry.

‘Deliberate substitution’

He added that although the short-term priority had been to focus on the deliberate substitution of beef with horse, “this does not mean that we have ignored the possibility of beef products containing undeclared pork or pig DNA”.

“Consumers have a right to expect that all the food they are eating is correctly described. I recognise that even trace levels of pork contamination, below the 1% threshold, are unacceptable to some faith communities,” he said.

“Where a product is labelled as halal and is found to contain traces of horse or pig DNA, the relevant local authority will investigate each case and take steps to ensure that consumers are informed.”

India: Got Delhi Belly?

Food outlets nationwide will soon get a hygiene rating.
Food outlets in India will soon get a hygiene rating. What do you think?

Some good news for those who have suffered the notorious "Delhi Belly," or experienced some heartburn while eating in India.

Soon, restaurants will have to start complying with the country's Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI),which is going to be rolling out a new hygiene rating system.

"From small dhabas to five-star hotels," food outlets will get a rating of one to five, with the latter marking the highest rating, according to the Times of India.

The standards, which will be determined over the next few months, will take into account how clean the food is, storage and how the outlet disposes of garbage.

The plan will start in big cities then move to smaller towns, with the initial registration deadline set for February 2014.

GlobalPost Senior Correspondent in New Delhi, Jason Overdorf, said its unlikely the new rules will have much effect.

"With corruption endemic in every aspect of Indian life, the new rules will likely do little more than add to the long list of payoffs that owners of restaurants and roadside "dhabas" have to make every month." he said.