Everyone thinks that eating well gives the body the essential nutrients when we consume fresh fruits and vegetables. This might be surprising to many people as most of the foods contain highly contaminated pesticides residue on them, there are many people make use of pesticides in foods.
Regular intake of fresh fruits and vegetables is healthy for the body, as it contains vitamins and minerals and proteins. But is these fruits and vegetables are safe and healthy?
Pesticides are more harmful and dangerous to humans and environment than that to pests as they are made to kill the pests that might damage the crops and fruits. It is used on a large amount by farmers, especially in remote areas. The developments in the agricultural sector have evidently shown an increase in the use of pesticides during the cultivation of crops.
Pesticides contain harmful chemicals and destroy the fruits and vegetables. The residual amount of these chemicals are present on the food in the grocery store. The pesticide residue cannot be removed easily with plain water. When you consume a fruit, the pesticide residue goes into the body as they get stuck and can make a person sick.
In the latest report about pesticide residues, the Environmental Working Group said that 70% of fruits and vegetables contain up to 230 different pesticides.
Let’s have look at some of the evidence
Pesticides found in Gauteng fruit and vegetables could pose health risks
Alberton Record
A study conducted by the University of Pretoria (UP) into pesticides in fruit and vegetables from fresh produce markets in Johannesburg and Tshwane found that some fruits and vegetables had one to three different pesticide residues which could have harmful effects on the health of anyone consuming them.
The pesticide concentrations ranged between 0.01 and 0.68 mg/kg and included endosulfan, procymidone, chlorpyrifos, and iprodione, which when combined form Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs).
“While these concentration levels were low, these chemicals can work together to produce additive or synergistic effects not seen with individual chemicals,” said Prof Tiaan de Jager, Dean of UP’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He was addressing the second International Conference on Food Safety and Security, held in Pretoria recently.
Her research focused on 27 fruits including apples, pears, plums and strawberries and 26 vegetables including cabbages, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes, as these are the most commonly purchased fresh produce.
The pesticides found in this study have endocrine disruptive effects, which means that they can act like the hormone estrogen and that they can interfere with normal hormonal processes in humans. Prof De Jager explained that this can affect many different hormone-dependent processes in the body including reproduction.
Estrogenic activity (when the body mistakes these endocrine disrupting chemicals for a female hormone), was detected in fourteen samples of fruit and vegetables namely apples, cabbages, carrots, lettuce, peaches, pears, plums, spinach, strawberries, table grapes, and tomatoes.
Kerala Agricultural University study finds pesticide residue om ‘organic’ vegetables
The news minute
A study of vegetables conducted by the Pesticide Residue Analytical Laboratory (PRAL) of Kerala Agriculture University at the College of Agriculture at Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram has intriguing findings of pesticide contamination levels of the vegetables we eat. Of the 5.6% vegetables found to have pesticide residue from its sample, 11.2% were those labeled ‘organic’ and had traces of chemical contamination from pesticides and insecticides.
Incidentally, Dr. Ambily, who headed this study conducted between the period of January 2018 to June 2018, told TNM that of the four categories of vegetables studied, it was the vegetables labeled ‘organic’ that actually showed the highest rates of contamination.
“We were studying the ordinary kinds of vegetables that make up the average person’s diet in Kerala. These included cucumber, chilly, coriander, red amaranth, beans, green chilly, snake gourd, beetroot, and curry leaves, among others,” Dr. Ambily said. They had taken 497 samples altogether of different vegetables which were divided into four categories: samples from the open market, samples directly from the farms or farm-based samples, organically labeled vegetables or organic samples, and from government-run eco-shops.
“Of all the vegetables studied, the total percentage of vegetables found with pesticide residue was only 5.4%. Of the different kinds of vegetables we studied, in the open market samples, we found 7.6% contamination. From eco-shops, which are run by the Department of Agriculture Department officials, it is 6.4%. From organic labeled vegetables it was 11.1%, whereas from farm-based samples it was only 3.8%,” Dr. Ambily points out.
Ironically, she observes, organic labeled vegetables are usually sold at nearly twice the cost of other vegetables. She continued, “Fruits are 99% free from pesticide residue. The only fruits that tend to commonly be contaminated are grapes.”
Worryingly, the study also revealed that traces of 18 toxic pesticides, which were banned in 2011, continue to be found in vegetables sold at different sources even today.
Dr. Ambily stresses that these are the findings from a limited number of samples in the January-June 2018 edition of this study and that the findings are likely to change with each study. While the latest edition of this study spanned six months, it has usually been releasing every three months since 2013.
We at C Tech Corporation have a unique, effective, and efficient way to tackle these pesticides and replace them with the pest repellent products that we manufacture.
The unique product CombirepelTM manufactured by C Tech Corporation is an insect, animal, and bird aversive which repels the pests.
CombirepelTM works on the mechanism of repellency. It is an extremely low concern, low toxic, low hazard, non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic pest aversive. It does not kill or cause harm to the pests as well as to the environment which indirectly helps to maintain the ecological balance.
CombirepelTM is available in the form of the masterbatch, which can be incorporated into the polymeric applications like pipes, agriculture mulch films, floating row covers, greenhouse films etc. used for crop cultivation purpose. etc.
The product available in the form of liquid concentrate can be mixed in paints in a predetermined ratio and be applied to the fences in the garden and farms to keep the pests away from these places.
Our product in the lacquer form can be applied topically on the applications. The lacquer is compatible with most of the surfaces like wood, concrete, metal, polymer, ceramic, etc. The lacquer can be applied on the already installed pipes in the fields or garden, fences around farms and garden, walls of the warehouses where the agricultural products are stored, thus protecting it from damage.
Our newly developed product in the form of a spray can be sprayed anywhere to repel the pests. The product is compatible with all types of surfaces and can be used by anyone. The CombirepelTM pest repellent spray is safe to use.
CombirepelTM is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, EU – BPR, ISO, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.
Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away and decrease the use of pesticides.
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