High residues in Pakistan

Results from a four year testing programme on Pakistani fruit and vegetables have shown that maximum residue limits (MRLs) are regularly exceeded. In total 550 samples were analysed during the late 1980s and early 1990s for organophosphate (OPs), organochlorine (OCs) and synthetic pyrethroid insecticide residues of which 214 (39%) samples contained residues. Of these 79 (14%) samples were above the MRLs set by FAO, which could in some circumstances pose a hazard to the consumer. Exceeding an MRL indicates good agricultural practice has not been carried out. Some relatively high levels were also observed for food/commodities for which an MRL has not yet been set. 
    Examples where MRLs were exceeded include:

• The MRLs for the OC DDT were exceeded by 10.3 times in cauliflower, 8.6 times in cabbage and 8.1 times in okra.

• The MRLs for the OP methyl parathion in coriander was exceeded by 7.5 times, malathion in onion was exceeded by 9.2 times and in beet sugar by 8.6 times.

• The most significant overuse involved the synthetic pyrethroids. The MRL for fenvalerate was exceeded by 20.0 times in turnip. The MRL for cypermethrin was exceeded in turnip by 30.0 times and 34.3 times in okra.

Comparative assessment of pesticide residue level in fruit and vegetables in Pakistan
Area/Province	A	B	C
Karachi (Sindh)	250	93	45
North West Frontier Province	154	54	22
Islamabad	96	48	11
Quetta/Pishin (Baluchistan)	50	19	11
A = Number of samples, B = Number contaminated, C = Number above MRL

There is no regular testing of food residues in Pakistan. Typically in the US and UK, where comprehensive monitoring schemes exist, MRLs for fresh fruit and vegetables are exceeded by about 1-2%.
    In view of the findings in Pakistan, researchers Syed Masud and Nursat Hasan who assessed the sampling say that it has become essential to educate farmers on the dangers of pesticides. The chemicals “become a curse if misused,” the scientists conclude. (DB)

Pesticide residues in foodstuffs in Pakistan: Organochlorine, organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides in fruit and vegetables, Mervyn Richardson (ed.), Environmental Toxicology Assessment, Taylor & Francis, Rankine Road, Basingstoke, Hants, RG24 8PR, UK, 1995, £95.00, 438pp.