Pesticide residues found in vegetables

Second lab report of College of Agriculture, Vellayani

A topping of grated carrot and freshly chopped coriander or mint leaves on your favourite dish looks great and adds to the smell and taste, but it could also spell trouble. The vegetables used for garnishing may be loaded with toxic pesticides, unless they are home-grown.

The second report of the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, has revealed dangerous levels of pesticide residue in 14 vegetables used by most households. While seven vegetables were found to be low in pesticide content, 38 were listed as safe-to-eat.

The laboratory carried out tests on 260 samples of 59 vegetables collected from retail shops, supermarkets and markets in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Kasaragod during the period from April 1 to June 30 this year.

Mint leaf, carrot, curry leaf, green chilly, coriander leaf, green capsicum, cucumber, celery, ladies finger, amaranthus (red and green), eggplant, radish and drum stick were found to be the most contaminated (exceeding the maximum residue limit set by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India), while tomato, yellow capsicum, red capsicum, ginger, cabbage (violet), cauliflower and long beans were found to have less of pesticide residue.

The samples contained residues of several pesticides including Profenophos, a neurotoxic pesticide banned in Kerala and restricted to tea and cotton in other States.

Interestingly, ivy gourd (kovakka), gooseberry, red onion, tomato, cauliflower, cabbage (white and violet), long beans and capsicum (yellow and red) which were listed as dangerously contaminated in the first report published in June, have made it to the safe- to eat category in the current report, indicating that pesticide safety is becoming a priority for farmers.

The laboratory has taken up periodic analysis of vegetable samples at under a project titled ‘Production and marketing of safe to eat vegetables for sale through government outlets.

Thomas Biju Mathew, Professor and principal investigator of the project, said the pesticide residue level in the dangerously contaminated vegetables was found to be high in samples collected from different outlets. This, he said, indicated that most of these products were sourced from the same place, probably outside Kerala.

“The high-level of profenophos residue in carrot and mint, curry and coriander leaf is a matter of grave concern. It shows that the pesticide is widely misused by vegetable farmers in the neighbouring States.”

The report of the study has been put up on the website of the Public Relations Department, Government of Kerala (www.prd.kerala.gov.in). It also contains information on methods to remove pesticide residue from vegetables using vinegar, salt, water and tamarind paste.

DINAMALAR NEWS

So, why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to you! Karnataka poultry association plans to introduce mobile vans selling fresh chicken door-to-door.

Want to buy raw chicken but too lazy to visit the nearest shop or the super market? Soon, if the plans of the state poultry farmers’ association work out, mobile vans would be vending your favourite delicacy at your doorstep.

The initiative of the Karnataka poultry farmers’ and breeders’ association (KPFBA), the first of its kind in the state, is expected to make 30,000 unemployed people in and around Bangalore self-employed if they have a little amount of money for an initial investment.

“Our aim is to promote consumption of chicken meat, but the plan would also provide employment for thousands of unemployed youth. We are ready to provide guidance for those who want to become small entrepreneurs through mobile chicken shops,’’ MCR Shetty, president of the association, told reporters here on Thursday. The association has submitted a proposal to the state government and are awaiting its approval, he said.

Shetty said the West Bengal Government led by Mamata Banerjee, in an attempt to provide cheaper food to people, had allowed the sale of fish, chicken, vegetables and fruits in Kolkata through mobile vans.

“We will ensure linkage between the people who want to own mobile chicken shops and the suppliers who manufacture freezers. We have also prepared some guidelines on how to ensure hygiene while selling chicken meat,’’ the president of KPFBA said.

Dr Chidambara S, Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Act, to whom dna spoke, said vendors had to keep chicken meat in freezers and maintain temperature between minus18-24 degree Celsius till the chicken meat was delivered to kitchen of the customer.

“Poultry farms that supply packed chicken meat have to follow norms of Food Safety and Standards Act. They have to ensure that chicken meat is packed in clean surroundings. 

The meat should be preserved in freezers to avoid bacterial infection as eating infected meat is harmful to health,’’ said Dr Chidambara.

The health officer of BBMP told dna that permission from the Food Commissioner was mandatory for selling chicken meat through mobile vans, as also a licence from the BBMP.

Welcoming the proposal for mobile vending of chicken, Mohammed Imran Pasha, member, Shivajinagar poultry traders’ association, said the initiative would help unemployed youth, and also increase chicken sales, boosting the poultry traders’ income. “It is a good idea provided all care is taken to ensure hygiene,” said Pasha.

Count your chickens

1. Indian poultry sector produces 39,60 million kg of poultry meat and 76,000 million eggs p.a.

2. 51% of all meat consumed is poultry meat

3. 70% of the Indian population is non-vegetarian

4. Three million tonnes of chicken meat is produced in India

5. India is the third largest producer of eggs and the fourth largest producer of broiler meat in the world after USA, China and Brazil

Nutritional content of chicken meat

Protein : 22.8%

Fat : 0.9%

Calories/100g : 105 g

Pan masala seized, one arrested

An Excise team led by P.J. Thomas, Excise Preventive Inspector, Sulthan Bathery Circle, arrested a man and seized 3.5 quintal of banned pan masala from him at the check-post at Muthanga on Friday.

The arrested person was identified as Abdul Haneefa, 37, of Ottappalam in Palakkad district. The officials also confiscated the vehicle used for transporting the contraband. Haneefa told the officials that he brought the stuff from Mysore to supply in Ernakualam. He was handed over to Health Department officials for further inquiry, the officials said.

Banned pesticides found in vegetables

The samples, collected from the State during Onam, were analysed for organochloro pesticides

The accumulation of chlorinated pesticides in the human body can lead to serioushealth hazards

Traces of pesticides banned from agriculture have been found in vegetable samples collected from the State during Onam.

Traces of Benzene hexachloride, Dieldrin and Heptachlor were found in 15 samples of vegetables that were analysed by the Council for Food Research and Development, Konni. Though the traces of the chemicals were “within the permissible limit and one sample above the permissible limit”, the study indicated that the pesticides not intended for agriculture had reached the vegetables, said M.K. Mukundan, director of the council.

The vegetable samples, collected from different parts of the State during Onam, were analysed for organochloro pesticides. The council analysed 43 vegetable samples in 20 categories. Of the 43 samples, 28 were found free of organochloro compounds. Carrot samples collected from Kozhikode had the banned pesticides beyond the permissible levels and the samples were classified as not satisfactory for human consumption, according to a report prepared by A. Bhadran, senior analyst of the council.

Plantains, beans, cabbage, chillies, tomato, bitter gourd, ladies finger, brinjal and cluster beans were among the vegetables that were assessed for pesticides.

According to Mr. Mukundan, there existed the possibility of farmers directly applying chlorinated pesticides or plants absorbing those compounds from the soil. The accumulation of chlorinated pesticides in the human body can lead to serious health hazards. The human body cannot disintegrate or excrete chlorinated pesticides. Is accumulation beyond a particular level would have disastrous health effects, said Mr. Mukundan.