ROHAN SHRIVASTAV | NT
PANAJI
The functioning of the directorate of food and drugs administration has yet again come under cloud with information emerging that it has no facilities to test the presence of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.
The FDA, being the regulatory institution, is entrusted with the responsibilities for analysis of various food and food items, including vegetables, fruits, etc.
The department has, however, failed to keep a check on the fruits and vegetables for the residues of pesticides, which are used indiscriminately by farmers particularly those from the neighbouring states.
Goans have for long been consuming vegetables, which are brought from Maharashtra and Karnataka and sold in the state markets, raising apprehensions about the safety of the produce and their long-term effect on the health of the people.
The FDA currently draws 25-odd random samples of fruits and vegetables every month from local markets and tests the samples for odour, taste, rotting, rodent contamination, added colours, and the presence of wax and ethophon.
It has now been revealed that there are no facilities to examine vegetables for pesticide residues.
Sources said the FDA has admitted in its periodical surveillance reports that there are no such facilities in Goa.
“There are specific pesticides, which are allowed under the FSSAI Act. Each of the pesticides has been prescribed different permissible limits for different varieties of vegetables. In order to check whether the fruits and vegetables available in the market were grown using the pesticides within the permissible limits or used indiscriminately ought to be checked… and this mechanism is not there with the FDA,” the sources disclosed.
The sources also said the permissible limits are measured in parts per million for which specialised equipment are required, which are presently not available with the department.
The FSSAI Act states that “no insecticides shall be used directly on articles of food”. However, the sources claimed that in many instances pesticides are directly used on cash crops, including wheat and rice, which can lead to serious health issues in the long time.
With so many drawbacks found in the functioning of the department in the recent past, the FDA has proven to be a complete failure in ensuring the food safety and standards.
The FDA miserably failed to handle the formalin in fish issue and used every trick to hoodwink people of the state into believing that the fish laced with formalin was safe for consumption.
The department has now been found to be not equipped with the required mechanism to check pesticide residues.
In some instances certain types of equipment like ‘electronic milk adulteration tester’ machine has been found to be lying unutilised.