Ek Cup Chai – Sans Pesticides Please!

 

It’s a wet, lazy Saturday afternoon. I stretch under the covers before I pull myself up, and get the newspaper. And make myself a cup of tea. Piping hot with a sprig of mint, just the way I like it. The thought of the weekend ahead, while I enjoy the refreshing aroma, and the warmth between my hands makes me smile like a Cheshire Cat. Nothing could ruin this day for me, or could it? 

I get a call from someone in the laboratory telling me that the results of the tea samples we had sent for testing about a fortnight back were out, and that I could find them in my inbox. As part of the Food and Agriculture team at Greenpeace India, we were aware of the gravity of the pesticides issue, and despite the growing number of stories, we wanted to test it for ourselves. We wanted to comb out all the possible pesticides that could be found in a range of products we were scoping. And this one tested for 358 pesticides in tea. These results this morning, was the best chance for us to rule out the possibilities of pesticides in tea, or confirm them. 

What We Found In The Top Indian Tea Brands 

Barring a sample here or there, nothing looked good. This didn’t feel right. There were a handful of pesticides in some cases, and in a number of cases over a dozen. This was in June of 2013. Following this, we did two more rounds of testing samples across 4 Indian cities, totalling up to 49 pesticides. This is sort of a summary of what the results threw up: 

46 of the 49 samples of branded tea or 94% of the samples contained residues of at least one pesticide. 

There were 34 pesticides found across the different brands. 

29 of the samples contained ‘cocktails’ of more than 10 different pesticides. 

The chaotic and conflicting state of regulations in India regarding authorisation of pesticides makes it extremely difficult to draw clear conclusions. However, 68% of the 34 pesticides found in the various samples appear not to be registered for use in the cultivation of tea in India. 

Monocrotophos, a suspected mutagen and neurotoxicant, found in 27 samples across tea brand. 

Another unapproved toxic pesticide, Triazophos, was found in five samples. 

DDT, which is banned for use in agriculture in India since 1989, Cypermethrin, a respiratory irritant, and Imidacloprid has shown the potential to cause reproductive or developmental impacts in animals were found in at least 60% or more of the samples. 

Neonicotinoid insecticides were present in a large proportion of samples (for example, Thiacloprid at 67.3% and Thiamethoxam at 78%). 

Read the Trouble Brewing - report, Greenpeace India released today, which talks about the situation with the tea industry in India. 

Moving Away From The Pesticides Treadmill

Sure, things look grim. But there’s a way out of this. And for this, the entire industry needs to clean up. Unilever, the biggest in the tea industry has taken decisive and forward looking action by investing in alternatives to chemical pesticides. While TGBL has taken tiny steps, the approach is the same old, which has failed time and again. In order to move away from pesticides, a holistic approach needs to be adopted. Non Pesticidal Management has worked in other crops in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, and with some research the industry, it if has the will can certainly find a way out the pesticides treadmill, which the tea Industry seems to be stuck on. 

This entails moving away from the substitution approach, that removes one pesticide and replaces it with another. Instead, it involves, rejuvenating the soil, ensuring soil health, understanding plant physiology, and understanding entomology or the lifecycles of the insects, which predate on the tea bushes. It’s akin to ensuring a healthy human who does not need medication on a regular basis. So one improves the immunity of the tea bushes, and ensures regular and proper nutrition is made available through healthy soil. That makes it a rock solid foundation, which is unshakeable under changing weather conditions, diseases and the like. This has also been observed in the case of tea. It’s possible, and real. 

What Can Companies Do? 

Greenpeace believes that as buyers of tea, they have an immense influence over the plantation owners, and can influence what kind of tea they are willing to buy. 

Bigger companies can invest in research projects to find ways to move away from the pesticides treadmill. 

Smaller companies could come together, and with their collective purchasing power influence the plantation owners in terms of the tea cultivated. 

No doubt, the Tea Board and the Small Tea Growers given their hold on the market, should take steps in the right direction, thereby assisting the industry to move away from pesticides. 

Together, I haven’t an iota of doubt, that we can move away from this pesticides addiction, and place the Indian tea industry on the global map as pioneers of a clean drink. 

We are not asking companies to pay an arm and a leg, but as a starting point pledge to their consumers that they are resolved to work with producers/plantation owners to work ways to ensure Clean Chai Now. 

I don’t want to give up my cup of tea, and I am sure, you don’t either. But as consumers and citizens of this planet, we want companies to promise us Clean Chai. Are companies willing to place people and the environment before profits? Let’s ask them. http://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1862&ea.campaign.id=30386

To read the report, click here. 

Shivani Shah is a campaigner with Greenpeace India.

Dairy owners use hair bleach chemical to prolong life of milk: officials

Officials have discovered that to prolong life of milk and milk products, many dairy owners had been using a cocktail of chemicals whose consumption can damage kidney and liver.

Food and drug officials detected Hydrogen peroxide (a common paper and hair bleaching agent), potassium hydroxide (used in soap preparation) and hypo (a bleaching agent) in milk at some dairies during raids in Madhya Pradesh recently.

This is the first time when the department noticed use of these chemicals whose short term consumption can cause gastroenteritis but damage liver and kidneys if ingested for a longer period.

Of these, hydrogen peroxide in particular is almost impossible to detect in laboratory tests, leading the officials to suspect the dairies could have been using these in plenty.

Usually, food security officer Bhopal BS Dhakad said, dairy owners mixed argemone oil, a poisonous substance, and starch in milk during preparations of products like paneer and mawa.

In fact, food security officer Avinash Gupta said, it was the presence of a tin containing huge quantity of hydrogen peroxide at a dairy in Morena which alerted them about the misuse of these chemicals.

An official, wishing anonymity, sarcastically remarked that unscrupulous dairy owners "have their own research and development wings".

While dairy manufacturers are experimenting with chemicals to prolong life of milk products, risking people's health in the process, old methods of adulteration continue to flourish, especially in Chambal region.

According to an official, who wished anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media, 10 litres of 'synthetic' milk contain only 200 mililitres of genuine milk.

The 'synthetic' milk, a proven health hazard, is a mixture of washing powder used for woolens, vegetable oil, water, glucose powder and a chemical substance called RM.

"Like illegal mining, the adulteration business is growing by the day in most regions of the state. Government should take stringent steps to curb adulteration as raids are not the only way to stop them," the official said.

He said the government must not only increase the staff for checking adulteration but also provide them security because they face threats during raids.

There are toxic pesticides in your chai: Study

MUMBAI: A Greenpeace India study, released on Monday, says it has identified the presence of pesticides in leading brands of tea sold in India, both national and international. These include pesticides that the World Heath Organization has classified as both highly and moderately hazardous, says the report and adds that tea cultivation in India is on a "pesticide treadmill".

The NGO studied a sample of 49 branded packages of tea from eight of the 11 companies that dominate the Indian market and which also export tea. The samples were taken from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, and sent to a certified laboratory in Europe for testing.

"The pesticides result in both acute and chronic toxicity. Acute toxicity is a result of direct contact with the pesticides, and is seen in farmers and tea cultivators who experience body ache, respiratory and skin problems. Chronic impacts are seen with low doses over a long period of time... Pesticides consumed in this manner can be potentially carcinogenic, affect hormones as well as the reproductive system," says Neha Saigal, senior campaigner, Greenpeace India.

The study says, "A large number of the samples tested positive for a cocktail of toxic pesticides. DDT was present in almost 67% of the tea samples, even though it is no longer registered for use in agriculture."

Worse, the report says several samples tested positive for Monocrotophos—a pesticide responsible for killing 23 students in a Bihar school; it was present in their meal. The Food and Agriculture Organization urged developing countries to phase it out after the incident.

"The study results indicate that the tea sector is caught in a pesticide treadmill," says the NGO, which has shared its results with tea companies, and asked them for a time-bound roadmap to replace pesticides with ecological agriculture methods.

To spotlight the issue, Greenpeace India has placed several billboards at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link urging tea companies to "Clean Chai Now". Volunteers have climbed up on these and won't come down till tea companies give a commitment to phase pesticides.

The Tea Board of India on Monday released a statement saying, "Indian teas are well regarded the world over and are totally safe following stringent standards." It added the industry, led by the Board, has been taking steps to make tea cultivation more sustainable and reduce reliance on synthetic plant protection products. It said the Board is open to collaborating with all stakeholders.

Food adulteration leads to diseases, death’

Adulterated food is the basic reason for threatening increase in the cases of cancers in Kashmir valley, says Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi, Assistant Professor in Center of Excellence, Nanotechnology and Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in an exclusive interview with Zeenat Zeeshan Fazil.

Excerpts:

Kashmir Images: We have lots of issues about food products here. People have apprehensions and need to know how safe our food products are?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Food adulteration is not a new phenomenon in the Valley. In fact the occurrence has recently seen a phenomenal rise, leading to a drastic increase in patients with gastric problems. But the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has time and again failed to check the standards of food products in the Valley. Adulterated food is the basic reason for threatening increase in the cases of cancers in Kashmir valley. These people should be put behind bars, and their manufacturing units closed down.

KI: What initiatives, in your view, is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) taking to curb incidence of adulteration in Kashmir Valley?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Though, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) implemented a new Act all over India in 2006 and the Act is a very good one when it comes to checking adulteration at all levels. For instance, adulteration of milk takes place during transportation, distribution and logistics. Earlier there was little punishment for milk adulterators but now strict action is taken against them. If adulterators do not abide by the new Act of FSSAI, they will face the consequences. However, its only in Kashmir that culprits are not being punished but are given safe passage as we have seen cases of Kanwal Agro Food Industries and Khyber Agro farms.

KI: Can you inform us about the food products that have the highest adulteration rate?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Adulteration in food is normally present in its most crude form and prohibited substances are either added or partly or wholly substituted. Normally the contamination/adulteration in food is done either for financial gain or due to carelessness and lack in proper hygienic condition of processing, storing, transportation and marketing. This ultimately results in a situation where consumer is either cheated or often becomes victim of diseases.

Such types of adulteration are quite common in developing countries/states and one such example is of Kashmir where food adulteration is at its highest stage. Food adulteration continues to be a major concern in milk and milk products, banned colours and dyes used in spices, uncontrolled use of growth promoters, and pesticides and other chemicals at the farm level. However, adequate precautions taken by the consumer at the time of purchase of such produce can alert him/her to avoid procurement of such food.

KI: What are the effects of food adulteration on the consumer?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Firstly, people fall sick or even die due to contamination as the toxins released by the microbes in the adulterated food plagues ones health and continued consumption of adulterated food leads to death.

KI: Do you believe that the introduction of food technology has created more scope for food adulteration?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Food technology involves both processing and packaging of food. Sometimes the consumers are given cheaper substitutes packed in good cases. The consumers will be paying higher prices unknowingly for a cheaper as well as dangerous material. This will be known only when they face health problems. Hence, food technology has given scope for food adulteration.

KI: How safe are our food laboratories?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Our laboratory is really in pathetic condition here. We lack both manpower as well as infrastructure. The laboratory is even short on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) machine, gas liquid chromatography (GLC) machine, spectrophotometer, water testing kit and other basic equipments like projector microscope, binocular microscope and milk testing kit. All these equipments are vital. The HPLC could have been used for detection of residual pesticide in packaged drinking water and carbonated water. Also the Spectrophotometer is vital for detection of coloring agents in juices and spices.

After seeing the graph of adulterated food items here, there is a dire need to set up ‘Analytical Research Laboratory’ here which will help in keeping necessary checks and balance important for gauging and maintain the quality. For example when you send a sample outside the state for testing during this period not only the composition of sample changes but at times results also vary.

If you have a ARL facility here in the city centre then a Health inspector or an officer concerned can collect samples randomly from districts and tests can be done within no time.

KI: Now that we lack the necessary infrastructure, can there be any precautions to be taken by the general public regarding food adulteration?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Since The safest way, in my view, would be to avoid those food products which have high risk of adulteration. There are strong possibilities of adulteration in cold drinks, so it is better to avoid them. Instead of that, we can have any fresh fruit juice. Usually children like sweets, chocolates and milk products. Parents should be concerned about the quality and freshness of such food items and take pains to trying to know the composition as well as quality. But once we know that there are high risks of adulteration in such food products, we must avoid sweets and other eatables with artificial colors. Also people can take the help of food adulteration testing centers, lodge complaints to the concerned authorities and if adulteration is detected, pursue such cases in the court of law.

Also make sure that food packets carry ISI, AGMARK of FPO labels before buying. Lastly, do not buy food articles if expiry date is crossed.

KI: Does adulteration take place at the manufacturing level or at the retail level?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: Both, there is some amount of adulteration at the manufacturing level while it is also seen during transit and storage.

KI: What are the findings of the most recent tests on food and beverages?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: There is increased demand for nutritional labelling since the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 has come into force. Consumers were ignorant about what they were consuming when labelling was not a must. The new Act – which replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA), 1954 – has helped them by mandating the basic information, which essentially promotes consumer rights and awareness. Similarly, more new substances are found to be toxic and their maximum residue limits (MRLs) are being regulated. These MRLs reduce with time and the availability of highly-sensitive instrumental techniques. There have been instances of widespread food safety issues such as the presence of melamine in dairy products and ethoxyquin in apple juice.

KI: What are the latest machines used for testing in India?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: The new Chromatographic and Spectrophotometric techniques like LC-Q-ToF , LC-MS/MS, ICP-MS, GC-MS, which are confirmatory techniques with very high sensitivities, are being used in India. These are next-generation techniques, as the earlier techniques like HPLC, GC , ICP-OES were comparative techniques and were not that sensitive.

There are a few Indian manufacturers, but meeting the latest international specifications necessitates the import of high-end testing instruments and machinery.

KI: How frequent should be the food safety audit?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: For high-risk products, it is recommended to carry out the safety audit twice a year while for all other products, one annual food safety audit is good enough. However, when the quality is not consistent or the requirements are critical, the frequency of food safety audit have to be increased.

KI: What are the various recommended for beverages?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: For beverages, the important ingredients are water, sugar, fruit juices and preservatives. Therefore the microbiological safety for the absence of food pathogens, the fruit juice content, the level of residual pesticides, vitamins, sugars, essential minerals and various other tests are required.

KI: Can there be something to ensure safe food to people here in Kashmir?

Dr. Ahsanulhaq Qurashi: A safer food supply is an important priority. Safe food means healthier children, longer lives, less costly healthcare, and a more resilient food industry for which government needs to play an important role. People must also take serious note of food quality and show concern about the quality of food products they consume and offer to their children.