Tags:
Journalism of Courage
THE ISSUE OF PESTI-CIDES IN SOFT DRINKS has raised many concerns. The com-panies are definitely not adding pesticides to adul-terate the product The pes-ticides are coming from contaminated ground wa-ter, used as an ingredient for soft drinks.
The universal contami-nants like DDT, Lindane, Malathion etc, generally persist in foods including human milk. Pesticides form a part of the 8220;toxic trail8221; whereby the pesticide residues get mixed with wa-ter from the soil. The conta-mination of food and drink reflects an indiscriminate use of pesticides banned years ago with farm and in-dustrial waste disposal.
Since then the larger is-sue has not been addressed.
Over the years chemicals accumulate in our bodies and poison insidiously and synergistically. Pesticides like Lindane, Malathion, DDT, Chlorpyrifos etc. are known to cause cancer, damage nervous system and reproductive system, cause birth defects, disrupt immune system and reduce bone density, to name a few.
We need to talk on food safety holistically, and take into account the numerous other chemical contami- nants including heavy met-als such as Lead, Mercury, Cadmium etc. levels. Levels of Arsenic and Lead in drinking water are higher than the levels permitted by the Ministry of Urban De-velopment.
The Rules 038; Regulations are loop holed. Rule 65 of PFA, 1954, regu-lates the presence of pesti-cides and insecticides in food. But 8220;Food8221; is defined in Rule 65 and excludes 8220;beverages8221;. Sub section A.01.01 in Appendix B de- fines the standards of qual-ity for non-alcoholic bev-erages, but is silent on pesticide residues.
In India, the food in-dustry is virtually unreg-ulated. Such controver-sies at least help in raising consumer aware-ness in important issues overlooked till then. A multi pronged approach is necessary to address these issues.
National Policy Makers must strengthen regula-tions and make the laws stringent and establish MRL. Food products should be regularly monitored for pesticide residues. Multi centre organizations involv-ing research, education and regulation have to be set up. Oganic farming may help to reduce pesticides and expo-sure to many other harmful chemicals. The Government must encourage farmers to convert to organic farming, by provid-ing incentives. Nutritional antioxidant status must be strengthened. We should start having minimally processed foods rich in mi-cronutrients. Vitamin C, E Chromium and zinc have been found to detoxify-chemical contamination.
