Vietnam: excessive amounts of pesticide on fresh vegetables

After testing fresh vegetables collected from 52 businesses in the city over the course of the year, the HCM City Plant Protection Agency said that 26 out of 790 samples (3.29%) contained an excessive amount of pesticide.

Tra Vinh mushrooms, celery, Chinese cabbage, salad, cauliflower, amaranth, water dropwort top the list of green vegetables with excessive amounts of pesticide (3.94%). Moreover, five samples of Da Lat small spring onions, two samples of HCM City morning glory and sweet greens also were beyond the allowed level.

In addition, several samples of bulbs and fruits such as potatoes, Da Lat tomatoes and Tien Giang bitter melon also showed an excessive amount of pesticide.

An excessive amount of pesticide is quite common in vegetables, bulbs, and fruits imported from China. According to the testing, five out of twenty-six samples of Chinese products contained a fairly high quantity of pesticide.

Chinese red and green apples showed traces of chemicals (3.07%). Moreover, two samples of onion and garlic imported from China tested positive for pesticides.

Every year, the HCM City Plant Protection Agency collects samples of vegetables, bulbs and fruits sold in the city to test. Over the past two years, the Agency has continuously raised an alarm over the rapid spreading of contaminated “fresh” vegetables as the amount of allowed chemicals found in collected samples has shown to be increasing.

To remedy the problem, city authorities have urged farmers to take appropriate procedures in vegetable caring and harvesting as well as will strictly punish those that distribute contaminated products.

Source: vietnamnet.vn