India’s drive to increase food exports is being impeded by pesticide residues unacceptable in importing countries. Meanwhile, produce on the domestic market is frequently contaminated with residues exceeding less stringent limits.

In 2010, the European Union rejected three okra consignments from India due to high levels of Monocrotophos, Acephate and Triazaphos. All three of these pesticides can cause headaches, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and cardiac problems. Their EU Maximum Residue Limit is 0.03mg/kg, but tests revealed levels of 0.13mg/kg.

India’s MRL for Monocrotophos is considerably higher at 0.2mg/kg, but it is recommended only for use on cotton crops, as it is toxic to birds and humans. Neverthless, levels detected in food for sale on the domestic market are far higher than for exports.

The Food Safety and Standards Agency of India’s report, Summary of Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level, released last November, reported Okra from Gujarat had residues of 0.305mg/kg, and levels in okra from Haryana were 1.046mg/kg, over five times the MRL.

Eurofins laboratory, Hamburg, tested Indian basmati and non-basmati rice and found Cabenenzum and Isoprothiolane at three times the European Commission MRL of 0.01mg/kg. Exports of Indian basmati rice alone are worth around $300m per year.

Indian rice exporters complained that the MRL had been reduced, but they were given five years’ notice before the change just over a year ago.

The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s drive to increase grape exports from 37,000 to 44,000 tonnes is being hampered by differing MRLs in exporting countries. The export season for Indian grapes is short, at only six to seven weeks. Last year, exports to the EU were threatened by a deadlock caused by Chlormequat, just one of 98 pesticides for which grape consignments to the EU are tested.

Germany and the Netherlands upheld stringent standards and did not clear imports. In May, containers of grapes rejected by the Netherlands, one of the largest buyers of Indian grapes, were left rotting at Rotterdam port. The UK and Sweden allowed import of Indian grapes by introducing their own MRL.

Use of Chlormequat is not permitted in the EU, but the European Food Safety Association helped importers by stating that Indian grapes with Chlormequat residues were unlikely to pose a health risk at concentrations below 1.06mg/kg. It did, however, raise the concern that children eating a large amount of such grapes in a short period might suffer acute symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and headache. A child weighing 16.15kg needed to eat just 211.5g of grapes to be at risk, it said. No warning was issued in the UK.

In August 2010, to ensure traceability of table grapes exported to the EU, India’s Agricultural and Processed Products Export Development Authority launched GrapeNet. This web-based software enables importers to view inspection reports, including pesticide residue analyses.

Unfortunately, India’s domestic market is not subjected to such vigilance. Summary of Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level lists samples from 13 states across India in 2008 and 2009 which tested above MRLs set by India’s 1954 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.

This FSSAI report, which was produced by the Government of India Department of Agriculture and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, details how four out of 25 pesticides banned in India for use, manufacture, import and export were found in produce for sale on the domestic market.

Aldrin, it says, was detected in brinjal, cauliflower, tomato, okra, banana, apple, wheat and milk. Chlordane, which is banned in 47 countries, was found in apples, bananas and cabbage.

Chlorfenvinfos was detected in bitter gourd, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, rice and wheat. Heptachlor was detected in brinjal, okra, tomatoes, rice, milk and butter.

These four substances are among the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) identified by the Stockholm Convention as the ‘dirty dozen.’ They remain in tact for long periods and accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals and people.

Testing Indian food has also revealed pesticides subject to restricted use. DDT is not supposed to be used on vegetable crops, but was found in tomatoes in Uttar Pradesh at over 100 times the MRL. Fenpropathrin is not recommended for use on tea plants, but was detected in Assam tea at more than twice the CODEX MRL of 2ppm.

And India’s people consume pesticides which are legal in their country but banned elsewhere. Lindane is banned in Finland, Indonesia, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Lucia and Sweden because its toxicity affects acute and chronic health problems. It has been linked to breast cancer and blood disorders. In India, traces of Lindane have been found in poultry and tomatoes.

Cypermethrin is legal in India but has been banned in sheep dip in the UK since 2006. The Indian MRL for Cypermethrin is 0.2mg/kg, but it was detected in pork in Mumbai at 15 times this level.

Repeated detection of high levels of pesticide residues is undermining confidence in India’s food exports, and there is a growing outcry from India’s own people over failure to meet lower standards set for the home market.

Rose Bridger worked on environmental policy and local Agenda 21 in the UK before developing markets for local food, including direct outlets like farmers markets and public procurement in schools and hopsitals. She is currently writing a book on the environmental and economic impacts of aviation expansion, focussing on cargo.

http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/ content/summary-monitoring pesticide-residues-national-level
fruitnet.com/content.aspx?cid=6604
apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/ Archive/GrapeNet

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