PUNE: The advice to 'watch what you eat' may no longer apply only to the calorie conscious, with a recent study finding copious quantities of pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables. Of the 345 samples they tested, researchers found pesticide residue in 96 samples.
The vegetable samples were collected from local vendors and shops from different parts of Pune and were tested from April 2013 to January 2014. Some samples were found to have residues of banned pesticides such as Chlordane, Carbofuron, Captafol and DDT.
An official from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited Pesticide Residue Testing Laboratory, Pune (PRTL), which carried out the research, told TOI that pesticides were found in vegetables such as bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, capsicum, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber and tomatoes and raisins.
Raisins, cucumbers and tomatoes had the maximum amount of residue of 181 parts per billion (ppb). In one sample of cucumber, the residue was 230 ppb, 192 ppb of Deltamethrin was found in another sample of cucumber along with 108 ppb of Ethofenprox. The maximum residue limit (MRL) of these pesticides in cucumber has not been determined, said the officials.
In an analysis of vegetables and fruits from April 2013 to June 2013, the minimum quantity of Captafol fungicide in a sample of bitter gourd was 10 ppb, while the maximum was 48 ppb in another sample, when the maximum residue limit is 20 ppb as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The fruits and vegetables that were analysed included apples, beans, carrots, brinjal, capsicum, mangoes, iceberg lettuce, plums, pears, peas, 'oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, raisins and others. Seven samples of different vegetables and fruits were tested in April last year, 25 were tested in June, 73 in July, 63 in August, 38 in September, nine in October, 11 in November, 31 in December and 88 in January 2014.
Overall around 54 types of pesticides/fungicides were detected from different samples.
An official from PRTL said that these vegetables were collected from different markets of Pune, some samples were also provided by individual farmers for testing. "Around 90% of the 345 samples are from the city markets. We have a target of testing around 600 such samples per year. Each pesticide used on each vegetable, fruit and food grain has a different maximum residue limit," the official said. He added that these pesticides are sprayed directly on the crops to control pests.
The monthly report compiled by PRTL is sent to senior agriculture officers, after which steps are taken to sensitize farmers about minimizing the use of these fungicides and pesticides. "We asked them to maintain a gap of at least 10 to 15 days between spraying pesticides on vegetables/fruits and selling them in markets," the official added.
PRTL officials added that though the pesticide residue levels were found to be higher than the maximum limits in some of the samples, most pesticides are easily leached out of the human body. "However, care should be taken by farmers to minimise the use of pesticides and fungicides. They should regularly send samples of their crops, fruits/vegetables to PRTL for testing. The consumers should thoroughly wash the vegetable, fruit or food grain with water twice or thrice before use," officials said.
Experts in the field of toxicology were cautious about commenting on the possible health impacts of pesticide residues in foods, citing lack of studies on humans on the subject. However, scientists at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, said that the amount of pesticide intake from different food products - such as vegetables, fruits, cereals, milk, water - should not exceed the acceptable daily intake or ADI, which is the amount of a substance that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without any significant health risk. "Whatever food commodities are eaten, the total pesticide load in the body should not exceed this acceptable intake. However, some pesticides are carcinogenic and should not be present in the food even in minimal amounts," said a scientist from IITR.
He added that based on the current status of animal studies, every pesticide can have a health impact. "Pesticides can cause neurotoxicity, damage the brain, can be toxic to the liver, kidney and may even cause hormonal disturbances in humans in cases of long-term consumption in significant amounts," he said.
Amit Khurana, programme manager, food safety and toxins, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi, said, "Pesticide levels found below maximum limit are acceptable to the extent of current level of toxicity studies. Even a single pesticide molecule is capable of causing mutation and may lead to cancer. Pesticides are linked to several disease conditions of the immune system, hormonal system and cancers."
Explaining the term 'biomonitoring,' Mathur said, "The concept of capping limits from all food sources is possibly limited in its design in a country like India with several food habits and dietary choices. Biomonitoring measures environmental toxins including pesticides and heavy metals in the human tissues. It takes care of all possible sources. Implementation is an issue. However, it still helps in regulating individual source of unwanted pesticide ingestion."
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