Killing ourselves with beautified 'fresh' foods

preservatives, weedicides, pesticides, enhancers...:

by Carol Aloysius

The next time you reach out for those shiny green apples , ever fresh grapes and enticing yellow oranges, think twice. Chances are, these imported fruits that grow naturally in their own cool climates , come packed with chemicals and preservatives which help them make their long journey to our tropical island , still looking as good as they were when freshly plucked.

Health experts believe that 99% of these imported fruits contain some form of preservative and when eaten can cause long lasting health impacts.

" Pregnant women, and children and even the unborn foetus are most at risk", warns Head of the National Poisons Information Unit, National Hospital Sri Lanka, Dr Waruna Gunatilake. "In the foetus and infants , they can cause intra uterine death, growth retardation and congenital problems. It also has haemological effects which can cause bone marrow failure , leading to high anaemia and reduced blood counts in pregnant women," he pointed out.

He says, the Poisons Information Unit has received several complaints of sub quality fruits and vegetables, allegedly containing carbide, ethynol, excessive pestiides and weedicides, being sold in the open market.

So how does one know how to identify these fruits and vegetables and avoid buying them?

" Watch out for bright green and red fruits and vegetables . If they are evenly coloured and bright, they are bound to be liberally laced with preservatives.

The naturally grown fruits are partly green and partly yellow as there is a direction of ripening from green to yellow which is a gradual process.

A study by the Poisons Unit has revealed these findings;

On Ethereal use

Under our law, it could be used to ripen fully formed bananas, papaw, avocado, pears and mangoes. Chemicals are prohibited in the use of fruits like orange, lime, mangosteen, and wood apple.

Calcium Carbide

The use of calcium carbide to ripen fruit artificially is banned. Once sprayed on fruits, it can react and produce cyanide. Dr Gunatilake adds, on the use of fungus on fruits and vegetables, " Usually apples and even grapes are externally impregnated with fungicide as well as wax to retain the moisture for a long period. " There is evidence of this in recent research studies. As for their health impact, they are still being studied", he says.

Fruit juices

What about fruit juices ?

On the nutrition side, he says imported fruits and fruit juices do not contain the essential vitamins that doctors recommend in one's daily fruit intake. Vitamin C, anti oxidants and natural minerals which protect the human body from heart disease, cholesterol and immunity against infections get destroyed due to their long shelf life . This readymade fruit juices whether local or imported also use preservatives and harmful colouring agents which could trigger bronchial asthma and allergic reactions, he warns.

Prevention

So how can we prevent these toxic elements creeping into our foods and poisoning us on a daily basis?

" It should start by educating the farmers on the harm that chemicals can cause to human health. If the soil is already contaminated with poisonous chemicals like pesticides and weedicides used by farmers before the seed is planted, these elements would have reached their peak level by the time the plants grow and the fruits reach our tables.", an agri chemist says on grounds of anonymity.

This call was reiterated just this week when President Maithripala Sirisena reportedly instructed the Governors of the nine Provinces to take prompt measures to encourage and guide farmers to minimize the use of harmful chemicals, and prepare a proper mechanism for it.

Findings

So what local fruits and vegetables have been found to contain these high residues of toxins?

According to informed sources, vegetables and fruits commonly exposed to chemical fertilizer and pesticides include: cucumber, tomatoes, beans, brinjals , mangoes, pears, ladies finger, manioc , papaw , banana , pumpkin , yams and many others too long a list to name. "It may be the reason for the increasing number of patients suffering from non communicable diseases, including cancer, diabetes, blood pressure and liver ailment", a health official from the Health Ministry says.

Minimizing risks

Are there practical do- able ways an ordinary housewife could resort to, in order to minimize exposing her family to such risks when cooking a meal?

Chief Food Inspector Colombo Municipal Council , Lal Kumara offers a few simple rules:

1. Wash vegetables ( and fruits)always in running water. Salt or turmeric powder commonly believed to kill germs, can reduce germs. Water actually removes them.

2. Wash rice and other cereals as well in running water. Paddy is often laden with pesticides by farmers using them in their fields. So it's best to wash rice several times in running water.

3. Peel the skin of apples and mangoes before eating them.

5. Avoid eating raw vegetables unless you are certain about where they have been grown.

6. Leafy vegetables such as, kankun , mukunuenna, gotukola must be rinsed several times in running water and dead leaves removed, before consuming.

Q. Any cooking tips? we asked..

"Deep fry your vegetables as it reduces toxicity. And cook and bake food, which also reduces pesticide toxicity".

Fruit growing chemicals

Chemicals to grow fruits are also dangerous when used in excessive quantities, health sources warn.

Sources said, they had seen farmers using such chemicals liberally and in the wrong manner. " Instead of exposing the fruits gradually to the gas produced by these chemicals in a dark room , to let them ripen naturally, they are spraying it directly on the fruits which is extremely unhealthy, they said.

Protective laws

Were there laws to protect consumers from these toxic elements in food, we asked

Deputy Director General, Sri Lanka Standards Institute , Ms Nayana Satharasinghe said,

" Under the Import /Exp[ort Act we have the mandate to test the quality of around 123 products which is a sharp rise from just 8 products when we started out.

However, the overall authority is the Health Ministry. However, we also have volunteer testing, a service offered to any manufacturer or distributor of a food product who requests for an SLSI mark on their product. They have to go through a very tedious process where we ensure that they meet the para meters of both the SLSI Act and that of the Consumer Affairs Food Act . We also continue to monitor them, especially, those that come under our purview", she says.

She says under the gazetted Consumer Act, fruit testing was mandatory . However, the SLSI mark is not mandatory in fruit juices. " It is very difficult to test fruit juices because of the number of new products entering the open market every day. Although we have not received any complaints, there have been instances where the use of preservatives has exceeded the permitted quantity. We have also found ready to drink fruit juices containing a high quantity of sugar, despite specific instructions by us on the maximum levels to be used,.

Labelling

Labelling of fruit juices , although another Must under both, the Consumer Affairs Authority Act and the SLSI, continues to be flagrantly violated according to findings by investigative food officials.

" The CAA has a very good labelling regulation., which specifies the exact size of the lettering, and the fact that it should be in the three official languages of the country.

But, often we find that many products are still finding their way to the markets in some other language . So we are monitoring these products and discussing with importers on the matter.", an unnamed official of the CAA said.

Smuggled

The trouble is, many of these products are being smuggled into the country in luggage in small quantities. If a complaint is made by anyone, we can take action as the Food Adminstration Unit has the power to do so", a representative of the Unit said.