Livemint:
New Delhi: Thursday, 18 December 2014.
A Right to
Information (RTI) query filed with the ministry of agriculture has revealed the
presence of pesticides—in some cases above permissible limits—in vegetables
sold as organic or free of chemicals. But the Delhi retailer named in the RTI
information protested that the vegetables came from a supplier endorsed by a
government-approved certifier.
 |
According to the ministry of agriculture, total organic production in
the country is estimated at 1.24 million tonnes grown in an area spanning 723,000 hectare. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint |
The RTI query
reveals that between January 2012 and October 2014, 150 samples of organic
vegetables were analysed for pesticide residues—of these, 50 samples, or 33%,
were detected with pesticide residues, while 10, or 6.6%, were found to have
residues above the maximum residue level.
The
information provided under the RTI is based on samples collected and analysed
by the All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues (AINPPR) under the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi. However, all 150 samples were
collected from The Altitude Store, a Delhi-based retailer of organic produce.
According to
information revealed under the RTI, the most commonly detected pesticides are
acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos, cepermethrin, flubendiamide and profenofos. Samples
of cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, brinjal, green pea, bitter gourd and okra
were found to have residues above the maximum residue level.
The
information raises concern regarding the quality of organic produce in India,
which remains largely unregulated. Retailers often depend on private certifiers
or trust their suppliers’ word that the produce is chemical-free. However, the
fact that all samples were collected from a single shop in the National Capital
points to a non-representative sample.
“We are in
the process of collecting data on pesticide residues through 15 laboratories
across the country. In Delhi, since there aren’t many organic retailers, we
collected samples from one store,” said K.K. Sharma, network coordinator of
AINPPR.
The RTI was
filed by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), an association of
agrochemical industries such as pesticide manufacturers.
“The presence
of pesticides in produce sold as organic means there is no regulatory check.
Customers are being cheated and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India has not punished a single violator for selling fake organic products,”
said S. Ganesan, an adviser to CCFI. “We also asked the ministry for details of
pesticide residues in imported agricultural produce, but the RTI reply states
that no such information is available,” he added.
According to
the ministry of agriculture, total organic production in the country is
estimated at 1.24 million tonnes grown in an area spanning 723,000 hectare.
Currently, 12 states are engaged in organic farming, and two—Sikkim and
Mizoram—are likely to become fully organic in a few years.
“The organic
vegetables with pesticide residues were sourced from a certified supplier in
Sonipat, Haryana,” said Ayesha Grewal, owner of The Altitude Store. “The
supplier had a certification from Ecocert, one of the largest organic
certifiers in the country approved by Apeda (Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority). As a retailer or consumer, if I cannot
trust a government-approved certifier who do I fall back on?” asked Grewal.
She said that
AINPPR had not bothered to share the results on pesticide residues with the
store. “Some months back, we stopped sourcing from the supplier in Haryana—but
due to lack of quality and consistency; we were unaware of the presence of
pesticide residues,” added Grewal.
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