RANJHA, April 27: The vegetables kept for sale at Rani Talau Vegetable Market of Nepalgunj in Banke district have been found to have high levels of pesticide residue.

The highest level of pesticide residue was found in mustard leaves (rayo), according to the Central Agricultural Lab, Nepalgunj.

A lab technician at Nepalgunj, Govinda Chaudhary, shared that the pesticide residue was found in the vegetables during a regular testing of samples.

He stated that the residue of organophosphate was 45 percent in leafy vegetables. The concentration of pesticides in food items at this scale is considered inedible.

Other vegetables were found to have 35 percent to 45 percent of pesticide residue, added Chaudhary. According to him, such vegetables can be considered safe to consume if the residue percentage comes down after quarantining them for four to five days and reexamining them.

The vegetables brought to the market immediately after applying pesticides show high levels of residue, he shared.

Vegetables grown and brought from Hirmaniya, Babugaun and India had higher levels of pesticide residue, as per the tests conducted in the lab.

The Department of Food Technology Quality Control at the Custom Point examines the vegetables and fruits coming from India, which are tested again in the local lab.

The test is conducted daily except for public holidays, said Motisara Thapa Kshettri, chairperson of the Agriculture Product Market Users Committee.

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