The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is implementing “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level” (MPRNL) scheme, under which food commodities are collected and analyzed for the presence of pesticide residues, informed Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala.
Based on its monitoring the Government has banned the use of 40 pesticides for use in the country.
During 2012-18, a total of 1,21,944 samples have been collected and analyzed, out of which 2,878 (2.4 %) samples were found exceeding Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Maximum Residue Level (MRL), says the Minister.
It bears recall that the Registration Committee registers pesticides after considering its efficacy and safety to human beings, animals and environment. In additions, technical reviews are carried out from time to time to assess the safety of pesticides for their continued use.
