Thrissur: The latest report published by Kerala Agricultural University's (KAU) on vegetables, fruits and food product samples analysed in Pesticide Residue Research Analytical Lab (PRRAL) at Vellayani under the safe-to-eat project emphasises on the immediate need to intensify studies on pesticide contamination in chilli and chilli products.
Insecticide ethion was detected in 18 red chilli powder samples (86 per cent) out of the 21 positive samples, when a total of 51 samples were drawn during a survey conducted in Thiruvananthapuram district, KAU officials said in a release here on Sunday.
“The high level of contamination in a commodity used in every meal of average Kerala diet is a matter of grave concern,” KAU officials said. Irrespective of the brands tested, all positive samples contained 1-2 different organophosphate (OP) or pyrethroid residues.
Registration of Ethion, which is an OP insecticide coming under yellow (highly toxic) category in India is withdrawn by the US-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as per the voluntary request of the manufacturers owing to alleged health concerns including endocrine disruptor properties. US-EPA has suggested the applicants to generate additional data on endocrine effects for consideration of re-registration of pesticides like ethion.
Though ethion is registered in India for use in chilli by the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee against yellow mite, a major pest of the crop, the actual extent of usage by chilli farmers in the neighboring states is of serious concern.
This is evident from the consistently high levels of pesticide residues detected by KAU in dry red chilli, chilli powder and curry powders with red chilli as the main ingredient, the release said.
Experts from KAU suggested that the regulatory authorities may take proactive steps to examine the endocrine disruptor effects also as an additional parameter before granting registration of pesticides. Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals (EDCs) deserve special attention as the endocrine-related health problems are growing all over the country but unfortunately there is hardly any data or specific information on their cause- effects.
