Pesticide-laden raw banana found in Birtamod market

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT,Damak, Sept. 12: Raw bananas in the wholesale agricultural market in Birtamod were found unfit for consumption after pesticide testing. They contained excessive amounts of pesticides.

Birtamod Deputy Mayor and Coordinator of the Market Monitoring Committee in Birtamod Nagendra Sangraula informed that the pesticide residue analysis on Wednesday revealed that raw bananas in the market contained high levels of pesticides. 

He said that analysis found pesticide residues of 53.1 per cent Carbamate and 32.4 per cent Organophosphate in the bananas.

Deputy Mayor Sangraula said that any item with pesticide levels exceeding 45 per cent should be destroyed. Out of 70 samples of raw bananas tested, some showed lower pesticide levels and those bananas will be tested again after a few days. The raw bananas that needed to be tested showed Carbamate at 44.76 per cent and Organophosphate at 27.67 per cent.

Sangraula said, “We are focusing on pesticide-free production. We will intensify inspections and monitoring to prevent the sale of items with excessive pesticide residues.”