Monitoring chemical residues on vegetables: Not effective

(Baonghean)With approximately 27 thousand hectares of fruit and vegetable production, Nghe An's annual fruit and vegetable output is very large. However, the indiscriminate use of pesticides on vegetables is always a "headache" for managers and causes insecurity for consumers. The "Chemical residue monitoring program on agricultural products" was implemented with the desire to bring clean and safe products.

Although not located in the "key" vegetable area of ​​the province, every year, the amount of vegetables supplied by Thanh Linh commune (Thanh Chuong) to the market of Vinh city, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong also reaches tens of tons. Thanh Linh vegetables are enthusiastically received by consumers because they rarely use pesticides. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong (Hong village - Thanh Linh) said: Two sao of vegetables on Lam river alluvial land of her family are "cropped" all year round, from green squash to mustard greens, melons, bitter melons, but only when absolutely necessary does she spray pesticides, the rest, she has to work hard to harvest by hand. When asked if the selling price of vegetables is different from that of vegetables in other regions, she shook her head: "It's the same price as in the market, but from the past until now, here we have been used to this type of vegetable growing. It's harder but I don't feel guilty because the vegetables we grow are clean."



Harvesting beans in Nam Anh commune (Nam Dan).

This is not the case in many vegetable growing areas of the province. Through the investigation of the Plant Protection Department, although the indiscriminate use of pesticides has decreased recently, there are still many shortcomings, especially the quarantine period has not been fully and seriously followed by farmers, the risk of food safety and hygiene is still high.

Although the program “Monitoring chemical residues on agricultural products” is newly implemented, it is considered an optimal solution to help detect agricultural products with pesticide residues exceeding the permitted level, thereby promptly taking effective preventive measures. During 5 months (from August 2012 to February 2013), 3,000 samples of vegetables and fruits in the fields and at wholesale markets were randomly collected, 5-7 days before harvest or during harvest, circulating on the market for analysis, determining pesticide residues, and 150 samples of vegetables and fruits were also collected for quantitative analysis of pesticides. On that basis, a database on pesticide residues on vegetables and fruits was built, from which effective management and monitoring measures were taken. Through analysis of 3,000 vegetable samples, nearly 10.29% detected pesticide residues, of which nearly 8.66% of the samples were unsafe and the group of unsafe leafy vegetables was 2.16 times higher than the group of fruit vegetables, concentrated in vegetables such as: various types of cabbage, Malabar spinach, Malabar spinach, green onions, amaranth, especially on amaranth and amaranth, the quantification of some active ingredients was dozens of times higher than the permitted level. To assess the general situation of pesticide use on vegetables and fruits, the Plant Protection Department conducted a direct investigation and interview, which showed many shortcomings in the management and use of pesticides such as: not complying with the quarantine period, not spraying pesticides properly and at the right dosage...

According to the general assessment, the program of monitoring chemical residues on agricultural products in recent times has helped improve the capacity of state management, partially control pesticide residues, strengthen propaganda, information, and recommendations for producers, raise awareness in the safe and effective use of pesticides, and help improve the capacity of state management in food safety and hygiene. At the same time, initially building a database on the situation of pesticide residues on vegetables and fruits and how to analyze residues, from which there are stricter monitoring measures. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, Head of the Provincial Plant Protection Department, this is a very complicated issue, requiring a synchronous solution from the investigation, detection, prediction of pests on crops, organization of direction of prevention, propaganda, monitoring and consumption. The State needs to have policies to support funding and encourage farmers to produce safe vegetables and fruits according to VietGAP standards, while supporting people in product consumption, building facilities to supply and consume safe vegetables and fruits, and closely managing and supervising the issuance of safe vegetable certificates.

Phu Huong