Karnataka govt to convene inter-departmental meet on food contamination

Bengaluru: Following the discovery of dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals and pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits being sold in Bengaluru, the state government on Thursday said that it would convene a meeting of all departments concerned and legislators to address concerns over rising food contamination.

Responding to a discussion in the Assembly, Malleswaram MLA Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said studies had found alarming levels of contaminants in vegetables and fruits. “More than 11 alloys and heavy metals and over 200 pesticide residues were found,” he said.

He said the permissible limits per kg for metals are cadmium 0.2 mg, lead 0.3 mg, nickel 67.9 mg, iron 425.5 mg, copper 73.3 mg, zinc 99.4 mg, chromium 2.3 mg and manganese 500 mg. “But contamination in food samples is 20 to 30 times higher than the permissible limits,” he said, adding that vegetables such as ashgourd, beans, capsicum, cabbage, chillies and cucumber showed high levels of contamination. He urged the government to take immediate steps to tackle the issue.

The findings were based on studies conducted under directions from the NGT and CPCB.

Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, said the issue affected the city’s population of nearly 1.6 crore and warned of serious health implications.

“Dialysis centres are coming up in every ward. You may advise people to wash vegetables in salt water or hot water, but how many of us actually do it? We need stronger measures,” he said.

Ashoka alleged that eggs had high steroid content and that milk sold in the city contained traces of lead, as fodder grown along sewage drains was used to feed cattle.

“During raids, we found ‘chemical milk’ from Andhra Pradesh being sold in the city,” he said. He demanded a monitoring committee to address the issue.

Ashwath Narayan suggested the formation of an interdepartmental panel comprising officials from the health, agriculture, food safety, pollution control and horticulture departments to regularly check the quality of vegetables sold in markets. “It is alarming. Today, one in every two people in Bengaluru has fatty liver.

Nervous system degeneration and stomach infections are rising. Sudden deaths due to body inflammation are also being reported,” he said.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre admitted that food contamination posed a major challenge and linked it partly to inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure.

“We have the capacity to treat about 1,200 MLD of sewage water, but need to treat nearly 1,800 MLD every day. Delay in setting up sewage treatment plants due to land constraints, polluted lakes, mounting solid waste, construction debris and single-use plastic are major challenges,” he said.

Khandre said a long-term plan was needed and assured the House that a meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar would soon be convened to gather suggestions from Bengaluru legislators and other stakeholders before framing guidelines.

Ashwath Narayan also suggested tertiary treatment of sewage water and improved effluent treatment to curb contamination.

RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said the Health Department had already taken steps to monitor fastfood outlets to check the use of harmful colouring agents in kebabs and the use of plastic sheets while making idlis.

“Since vegetables are grown in surrounding villages, awareness must be created among farmers. Pesticides, veterinary drugs, chemicals from food contact materials and cleaning agents can also lead to contamination,” he said.