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Pesticide residues found in 58 food samples in Kerala: Minister
Kerala Agriculture Minister T Siddique said on Monday that 58 of 1,262 food samples tested at official labs, including Vellayani and Mannuthy, contained excessive pesticide residues and toxic substances. He called the…
The Story in Brief
Kerala Agriculture Minister T Siddique said on Monday that 58 of 1,262 food samples tested at official labs, including Vellayani and Mannuthy, contained excessive pesticide residues and toxic substances. He called the finding 'extremely serious' and announced steps to promote organic vegetable farming, including the Kathir project to set up farming clubs in 500 schools this year, with Rs 10,000 per school. The government also plans to open 2,000 vegetable markets under the Agriculture Department for the Onam season, with Rs 10.5 crore allocated to curb price hikes.
The Indian Opinion
The minister's claim that buying vegetables is 'buying toxic substances' is alarmist. Only 58 of 1,262 samples (4.6%) failed, not a systemic poisoning. The government's response, promoting organic farming and school clubs, is forward-looking but skirts immediate enforcement. Will the minister name the contaminated products, the labs that tested them, or the action taken against sellers? That would settle whether this is a real crisis or a political launchpad.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, thefederal.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
