According to Shrestha, intensity of residual pesticides lessens in stale vegetables. Due to the very nature of some pesticides, their effect decline in the course of time. "I prefer Niguro (a type of fern used as vegetable) and tusha (bamboo shoots), which are free from pesticides," said Shrestha. He, however, avoids mushrooms from jungle as they pose greater risks.
These days use of pesticides has been increasing in farms. Farmers use pesticides to prevent insects from damaging their vegetables in the farm. Traces of such pesticides remain at the time when consumers buy them from market.
Therefore, Shrestha urges consumers to peel the skin of vegetables and wash them thoroughly before cooking or eating raw to minimize the risks. He even advises consumers to wash organic fruits and vegetables brought from the market.
"Wealth does not always guarantee health. No one knows whether the organic foods that cost more are really organic," he added. He complained that due to lack of monitoring mechanism, use of pesticides has been increasing, posing serious risks to public health. Indifference of the government agencies responsible for ensuring food safety has encouraged pesticide use, which has now become common practices.
Doctors say that improper and excessive use of pesticides is dangerous for the health of consumers. It may lead to acute food poisoning with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness and numbness, they say. In severe cases, victims may even have difficulty in breathing and complain of blurred vision and convulsion. Prolonged consumption of vegetables with excessive pesticides may also damage nervous system or other organs such as liver and kidneys. Some pesticides may be transferred to infants from breast-feeding, thereby, affecting their development.
Jagannath Mishra, chairman of Forum for Consumer Rights Protection (FCRP), said that his organization has been pressing the government to ensure food safety. "We have been raising the issue at several forums but to no avail," said Mishra.
He said that the government does not have standard protocol for the use of pesticides.
"Pesticide use is rampant not only in vegetables and fruits but in many other food stuffs as well," Mishra added.
"Harmful effects of pesticides concerns everyone, even the bureaucrats can´t remain immune to the resulting consequences to health," said Mishra. He said that there is no mechanism to check irrational use of pesticides at farms.
Officials at the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), the government agency responsible to ensure food safety, said that due to limited manpower and resources, it has not been able to oversee all the areas.
"We have been focusing on products that pose immediate risks of left unchecked like milk, water, meat and others," said Jiwan Prava Lama, director general, at DFTQC. She said that the products the DFTQC has been scrutinizing regularly, too, are found to be problematic. Lama concedes that there are a lot of other sectors which the office has not been able to monitor. She said that out of total samples of food items it has analyzed in its laboratory, 17 percent were found to be problematic. She said that adulteration, residual pesticides and bacterial contamination are common in food stuffs. She also concedes that the office has not been monitor the residual pesticides in vegetables and fruits sold in the market.
"We can not comment on how safe fruits and vegetables are as we haven´t studied their samples. But some studies conducted in the past suggest that residual pesticides in green vegetables are beyond permissible limits," added Lama. The office in the past had conducted an extensive study in coordination with Vimta Lab, Hyderabad, India, that concluded even rice, pulse and vegetable consumed in the Kathmandu Valley contain high level of pesticides hazardous to human health. The study clearly indicates the alarming threat posed by pesticides present in food consumed by valley residents.
Among the diets studied at that time, green-leafy vegetable samples from retail stores in Lalitpur, vegetables from retail stores in Bhaktapur and samples of rice, pulses and vegetables from Kathmandu were found containing high level of pesticides. According to the DFTQC, 15 food samples were taken from different locations based on the local food consumption pattern, then.
Lama said that DFTQC cannot manage all the problems at once because of its limited manpower and resources. She instead urged the consumers to remain vigilant and change their consumption habits. She said that irrational use of hazardous pesticides not only hurt public health but also the environment by contaminating soil and water and affecting animals and birds.
"If it is not controlled in time, it could have disastrous effects," added Lama.
Jiwan Prava Lama
Director General, DFTQC
Which foods and vegetables have less residual pesticides and are comparatively safe to eat?
We have found some levels of pesticide residue in lot of crops, vegetables and fruits. Even meat products, fish, milk and water, edible oil and others have been found contaminated with both bacteria and hazardous pesticides. But that does not mean all foods are hazardous and inedible. In this fiscal year we have lodged formal complaints against 169 companies and forwarded their files to public prosecutors urging them to take actions against them.
I have to concede that our regulatory mechanism is not very good. We have to deal with too many issues with limited manpower and resources.
How can being conscious and aware help when the consumers have no choices?
Consciousness and awareness can change a lot of things. If people know about the adverse effects of pesticides they will take precautions. I would like to request all to go for stale vegetables instead of the polished ones. Let the vegetables and fruits to be stale. Excessive use of pesticides means that there isn´t enough time for the harmful chemicals to decompose before they are harvested.
The effects of residual pesticides lessen in the course of time. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consuming them. Even the farmers are consumers. They get exposed to pesticide more than us. They should be aware of the irrational use of pesticides and its consequences. If the consumers become aware and start preferring organic vegetables, farmers will be discouraged to use pesticides.
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