Food safety vis-à-vis pesticide residues: The catch-22 situation

Anupam Gogoi (anupamgogoi.2009@rediffmail.com)

Nature envisages life to be happy and healthy. Humans represent the most complex form of life and need to consume food, which provides energy and contains essential nutrients. However, this same food, when it becomes unsafe for containing harmful microorganisms or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes kill 41 million people worldwide each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. In India, NCDs contribute to around 5.87 million (60%) of all deaths, or in other words, 1 in 4 Indians has a risk of dying from an NCD before they reach the age of 70 years. Pesticide residues in high amounts, when present in food, have the potential for acute health effects.

 Pesticides are chemical substances of natural or synthetic origin or mixtures of substances that are used to eradicate pests and insects, intended for preventing unwanted species of plants or animals from causing harm or otherwise interfering with the product, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food or substances. Over 1,000 different pesticides are used around the world. They constitute the key control tactics for management of pests and diseases and are considered responsible for the agrarian growth because of the benefits associated with them, like improved crop yields. That is why extensive use of pesticides has taken place in the recent past. Further, the superfluous pesticide usage for fulfilling the escalating quest for higher profit has resulted in several ecological and environmental consequences besides the ill effects on human health.

Assam is endowed with diverse agroclimatic conditions that permit the growing of a wide range of horticultural crops. The three main agricultural products in Assam that are currently of major concern with respect to high pesticide residues are tea, fruits, and vegetables. Tea, for which Assam is famous worldwide for its unique aroma and taste, contributes significantly towards the economy of the state. Fruits and vegetables are the major sources of vital nutrients, but instead of fulfilling the nutritional requirements, these agricultural products may carry pesticide residues and harm the health of the consumers.

The Food Safety & Standards (Contaminants, Toxins & Residues) Regulations, 2011, lay down that insecticide contents shall not exceed the Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) for the different articles of food, including tea, fruits, and vegetables, as laid down in the Regulation. Hence, any food product containing pesticides higher than MRLs as prescribed in the Regulation is an unsafe article of food and punishable with imprisonment and fine as per the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006. Again, the Insecticides Act, 1968, prohibits the import, manufacture, sale, distribution, or use of certain insecticides that are either prohibited or not registered under the Act.

There have been several studies that show that a significant number of samples of these products contain pesticides higher than MRLs as prescribed in the regulations, show the presence of pesticide residues other than those registered or orbanned and restricted for use under the Insecticides Act, 1968, and hence are unsafe for human consumption. It implies that a section of farmers are resorting to use of pesticides without proper knowledge on right use of pesticides and are using pesticides higher than recommended. Also, the possibility of the availability of banned pesticides in the market for farmers to procure them cannot be ruled out. Additionally, the percentage of samples showing the presence of pesticides has been found to vary from crop to crop and location to location, showing that a section of farmers is resorting to more frequent use of pesticides in particular crops and that the level of awareness amongst farmers on the use of pesticides varies location-wise.

In view of the above ill effects of pesticides on human health as well as on the environment and at the same time their requirement for achieving agricultural productivity, present-day society now finds itself in a 'Catch-22 situation'-a 'dilemma or difficult circumstance from which escape is difficult because of mutually conflicting or dependent situations. In such a situation, it is important to understand that the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, makes provisions to ensure the safety of the articles of food by fixing MRLs for different pesticides, whereas the Insecticides Act, 1968, makes provisions to regulate the import, manufacture, or sale of insecticides in the country. Thus, both acts make provisions for ensuring the health of the citizens, appreciating both the contradictory circumstances of the need for pesticides to increase the productivity of agriculture as well as the danger to human health of their superfluous usage.

Considering the above observations and in light of the issue of pesticide use in agricultural products coming under the domains of mainly two government departments, Food Safety and Agriculture, implementing the provisions of the above two acts, there should be close cooperation between these two to take necessary corrective actions. There should be regular active surveillance through proper mapping and planning, which will provide real-time data to assess the impact of actions taken; traceability of the pesticide uses should be established to the farmer level; necessary actions should be taken to ensure that such contaminated foods do not reach the market and to ensure that the farmers do not resort to such excessive use of pesticides by way of appropriate dissemination of knowledge through training, awareness programmes, IEC activities, including radio, television, print, and social media. Such information should also include tips for general consumers to reduce chemicals/pesticides from such products. Special attention is required to be taken to ensure the use of only recommended pesticides against a crop along with ensuring the non-availability of pesticides that are banned, refused registration, and restricted for use in the market.

Moreover, a more stringent monitoring mechanism to keep track of the pests, their behaviour, and pest-resistant varieties, along with cultural pest control and mechanical and biological control practices, should be put in place besides the chemical control practices, which need to be applied when the pests cannot be controlled by other means and the pests's damaging capacity is nearing the threshold. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the Government of India is promoting organic products in our country, a roadmap should be developed to increase organic cultivation in the state, which will go a long way to boost the export potential of these products, thereby increasing the revenue earned by the state as well as farmers, which can bring about revolutionary change in the socio-economic condition of the entire state.

   It is of utmost importance that due attention be given to this vital component of preventive healthcare by all segments of society today, more particularly the government machinery, which can address issues connected thereto so that all citizens in the country can have access to good health and lives free from diseases, particularly the noncommunicable diseases resulting from consumption of unsafe foods containing harmful chemical substances.