Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Vellayani, that has been at the forefront of flagging the rampant use of toxic pesticides on vegetables, has emerged with a new shocker. If the results of their newly introduced, liquid chromatograh-mass spectrometery (LCMS) tests are to be gone by, Keralites will want to drop their shopping bags and pause before they set out buying 'organic' veggies for their 'onam sadya.'
Samples collected from branded outlets in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram show that vegetables branded as 'organic' contain worrisome amounts pesticides, even those that could not have been identified by existing technologies.
The university, that recently acquired the Rs.2.3 crore testing machine from the US, has been on a mission since 2013, along with the Department of Agriculture, to identify and regulate the pesticide residue in vegetable produce sold in the state.
The samples collected from Ernakulam between April-June showed that branded organic veggies had the presence of toxic chemicals on them. Capsicum sold during this period showed concentration of seven different pesticides while baji chilli samples threw up three different pesticides.
Samples of mint, green chilli and curry leaves also showed high concentration of pesticides.
Harmful pesticides such as acetamiprid, metalaxyl, chlorantraniliprole and others were identified on the organic veggies and fruits including passion fruit pink and black grapes.
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