Millions of Indians are facing a new health risk. Increasing water scarcity is forcing farmers to grow vegetables and fodder using untreated sewage waste water across urban and rural cities.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FAAI) has in the past issued several warnings on pesticide residues and crop contaminants, including aflatoxins, patulin and ochratoxin in Indian fruit and vegetables. These pesticides are known to adversely effect the nervous system and can result in lung damage and cancer

The world health statistics 2012 report, released by the World Health Organisation on Thursday, focuses on the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the world.

The report says that one in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure, which is directly responsible for a majority of deaths from strokes and heart disease. The report also points out that one in 10 adults globally has diabetes.

A survey by an NGO revealed that crops on 35,000 acres and 41,000 people were affected in Matiari district during recent breach in Rohri Canal.

There's garbage in your greens. That fresh cucumber in your salad or your dose of green leafy veggies could well have been grown using raw sewage discharge.

New Delhi With no political consensus as yet to allow the foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, India needs to undertake structural reforms urgently to curb food inflation that surged to a 15-month high of 10.49% in April on dearer vegetables and protein-based products.

Economists said these reforms should focus on four fundamental aspects: raising productivity, curbing wastages, better distribution and delivery system, and ensuring fair returns to producers to keep them engaged in the farm sector.

Maharashtra is struggling to cope with one of the most severe drought crises in recent times, with many terming it worse than the historic drought of 1972.

Rising temperatures are going to hit India hard and by the end of the century the mean temperature rise is expected to be between 3.5 and 4.3 degrees Celsius. This is bound to have a deleterious effect on wheat production and will also see a major increase in cases of malaria.

These are but a few of the alarming submissions made in India’s National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) covering a wide variety of sectors including water, agriculture, forestry, natural ecosystems, coastal regions and human health between 1961-2098 by using computer-generated models in which over 2,000 scientists provided inputs.

Beijing: Cabbage sellers in China have been caught spritzing their product with formaldehyde to keep it fresh during long trips to market in the country’s latest food safety scandal.

KOCHI: If all goes well, Kochiites will soon be able to savour quality-rich organic vegetables. ‘Zero Waste and Safe-to-Eat Vegetables’, a major project by the district administration in association with District Agri- Horticultural Society and the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council (VFPCK), will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on May 7.

Fruits should be thoroughly washed with fresh/salt water to remove pesticides and other chemicals

Consuming seasonal fruits is one of the best ways to stay healthy when braving scorching summer days. Doctors and dieticians say that fruits provided necessary nutrients while keeping diseases away. But, there is concern over carcinogenic (cancer-causing) agents being used to ripen the fruits quickly for higher volume of sales.