Pesticides And Toxins

Green challenge to new pesticide residue rules

Green organisations have instigated legal action over the new maximum legal limits on the level of pesticides allowed in food items sold in the European Union.

Publication Date: 
01/09/2008
Pesticide Action Network North America
Tags:
Pesticides, Food Contamination, Pesticides And Toxins, Maximum Residue Level (MRL), Pesticide Residues, European Union (EU)
Pesticides And Toxins

New rules on pesticide residues in food

Consumers are exposed to pesticides because small amounts can be found on harvested crops. These amounts are called pesticide residues. In the EU, from September 2008 onwards, a new Regulation comes into force which lays down revised rules for pesticide residues.

Publication Date: 
01/09/2008
European Commission
Tags:
Food Contamination, Pesticides And Toxins, Maximum Residue Level (MRL), Pesticide Residues, Food Safety, European Union (EU)

 Arsenic found in rice products too

Studies have revealed high arsenic levels in rice and rice products such as rice bran and rice crackers. A study published in April 2008 in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reported high levels of arsenic in baby rice sold in supermarkets in the UK. The samples of products they tested came from Japan and the US. The study revealed that 35 per cent of baby rice samples

Publication Date: 
30/08/2008
Down to Earth
Tags:
Rice, Food Contamination, Arsenic, Health Effects, Cancer, Japan, United Kingdom (UK), United States Of America (US), Nadia
Pesticides And Toxins

Crop protection stewardship in India: Wanted or unwanted

Use of pesticides in India has substantially increased in recent years. It is increasingly becoming an inevitable input in intensive agriculture systems, which have mainly been fuelled by changes in cropping pattern and practice. Survey results confirmed that there has been a widespread lack of awareness on pesticides and their appropriate handling among the applicators in India. Implementation of alternate pest management strategies to reduce pesticide consumption was found to be ineffective.

Publication Date: 
25/08/2008
P. K. Shetty, M. Murugan, K. G. Sreeja
Current Science
95
4
457
Tags:
Agriculture, Pest Control, Food Contamination, Trade, Pesticide Use, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Private Sector, India
Pesticides And Toxins

A review of analytical methods for the determination of aminoglycoside and macrolide residues in food matrices

The development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been attributed to the overuse of antimicrobials in human medicine. Another route by which humans are exposed to antibiotics is through the animal foods we eat. In modern agricultural practice, veterinary drugs are being used on a large scale, administered for treating infection or prophylactically to prevent infection.

Publication Date: 
22/08/2008
Tara A. McGlincheya, Paul A. Rafter, Fiona Regan & et al
Analytica Chimica Acta
624
1
1
Tags:
Animal Products, Food Contamination, Health Effects, Drugs, Pesticides And Toxins, Residue Testing, Micro Organisms
Health

 In short

food Light too affects drinks Conventional methods to test the shelf life of products, say on retail displays, focus on heat and ignore the effect of light. Scientists exposed a soft drink containing saffron to different levels of light at rising temperatures. They found that the beverage grew lighter in colour as the intensity of the light increased, confirming that light can cause a

Publication Date: 
14/08/2008
Down to Earth
Tags:
Acid Rain, Agriculture, Plant Breeding, Maize, Food Contamination, Soft Drinks, Food Storage, Health, Viral Diseases, Micro Organisms, Science And Technology, Geology, Research, History, Mexico
Agriculture

Saving water: from field to fork curbing losses and wastage in the food chain

As governments struggle with a sudden crisis caused by significant and rapid increases in the price of food, a companion crisis in availability of water also threatens billions of people. A hidden problem behind the food crisis is that as much as half of all food grown is lost or wasted before and after it reaches the consumer. And this wasted food is wasted water too. To meet the challenge of feeding growing populations and the global hungry, massive reductions in the amount of food wasted after production are needed.

Publication Date: 
01/08/2008
Lundqvist, J., C. de Fraiture, D. Molden
Stockholm International Water Institute
Tags:
Agriculture, Food Policy, Food Supply, Food Contamination, Water Management, Water Demand, Climate Change, Developing Countries, Food Security
Food Policy

Spices Board warns of contaminated imports

George Joseph / Kochi July 25, 2008, 0:55 IST

The Spices Board of India has warned to importers and value-adding units of whole star anise and Saigon cinnamon of Vietnam that the consignments to India could have been contaminated with an unapproved colour known as Chrysoidine.

The board said in a press statement that manufacturing units of curry powders and garam masalas should make sure the imported consignments of these spices are free from Chrysoidine, so as to avoid rejection and recall of exports.

Publication Date: 
25/07/2008
Business Standard (New Delhi)
Tags:
Spices, Food Contamination, Imports, India, European Union (EU)
Pesticides And Toxins

 No to DDT spray

No to DDT spray: A Ugandan high court has asked the health ministry to suspend the spraying of ddt in northern part of the country following a petition by nine groups of farmers, traders and conservationists.

Publication Date: 
14/07/2008
Down to Earth
Tags:
Food Contamination, Health Effects, Farmers, Vector Control, DDT, Pesticides And Toxins, High Court, Africa, Uganda
Agriculture

Arsenic and paddy rice: A neglected cancer risk?

Rice is the staff of life for 3 billion people, predominantly in Asia. But does the food that sustains half of humanity also increase the risk of cancer for some? That question arises from three sets of findings-including data now in press-that report elevated arsenic levels in rice and products such as rice bran and rice crackers.

Publication Date: 
11/07/2008
Richard Stone
Science
321
5886
184
Tags:
Rice, Food Contamination, Arsenic, Health Effects, Cancer, China

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