Green activists yesterday urged the government to enact a strong pesticide control act to check rampant pesticide use in production of fruit and food items, aiming to protect public health.
They came up with the call at a press conference organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolan (Poba) that was held at its office to reveal the findings of a survey carried out to assess pesticide and chemical use in food and fruits items, reports UNB.
Recently, Poba collected some 82 fruit and food items from city markets and it independently tested those. The survey found DDT (Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor and other toxic components in 40 percent of food items three to 20 times more than what the human body allows.
It also found the presence of toxic pesticides in 35 percent of fruits and 50 percent of vegetable items. Arsenic and chromium was detected in rice samples while antibiotics, which is harmful to human health, was found in poultry and fish items.
Besides, the survey found formalin in only 10 percent fruits, much less than in the past.
Speaking at the press conference, Poba chairman Abu Naser Khan said a section of unaware farmers, greedy traders and suppliers are using chemical, pesticide and toxic subroutines in food and fruit items.
“DDT, aldrin, chlordane and heptachlor etc is severely poisonous to health. Unchecked use of pesticide in agriculture is posing a threat to public health,” he said.
Poba executive secretary general Abdus Sobhan and its joint secretary Lenin Chowdhury, among others, spoke at the press conference.