Govt to act against sale of pest-ridden vegetables

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government Tuesday said that it would take steps to stop the sale of fruits and vegetables with poisonous pesticide content.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that he had instructed the concerned officials to initiate strict steps to stop the sale of such poisoned produce at a meeting here to discuss the issue of contamination, an official release said today.

It was also decided to conduct field inspections to detect pesticides, it said.

The Chief Minister asked the authorities to check the quality of the fruits and vegetables coming to Kerala from outside the state at the procurement point itself.

The officials stated that two out of 10 samples collected

by food safety authority in the state were poisonous. Leafy vegetables and apples have the maximum poison content, the release said.