The state-of-the-art testing equipment at the central public health laboratory on Sunday
From now onwards, the presence of heavy metals and pesticides in fruits, vegetables, cereals and other food items can be detected in government testing lab in the city. For this purpose, central public health laboratory at mini health directorate has been upgraded. Medical and health minister Kalicharan Saraf inaugurated the state-of-the-art testing equipment at the central public health laboratory on Sunday. According to officials, this is the first such public lab in northern India.
The lab has been upgraded with the establishment of advanced testing equipment at a cost of around Rs 7 crore. “ With this Rajasthan has joined the selected state like Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra where the presence of heavy metals and pesticides in fruits, vegetables, and other food items can be tested at government testing lab,” Kalicharan Saraf said. To operate these machines staff is being provided training and process have been initiated to fill vacant posts of technicians in the central testing lab,” he added.
WASTE-WATER IRRIGATION PRODUCE POISON FOR HUMAN
Many studies have reported the presence of high content of heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic, cobalt, copper, zinc etc in vegetables and fruits cultivated with waste-water. Irrigation of agricultural land with waste-water leads to a continuous buildup of metals at these fields which gets accumulated in the vegetables and crops grown on these fields. It has also been found that vegetables grown in the vicinity of the waste-water drain are also not safe for human consumption. So far, testing facilities of these heavy metals and pesticides were not available at any government lab in Rajasthan, the only couple of private labs are currently doing this.
HEAVY METALS IN FOOD IS HAZARDOUS
- The heavy metal element has toxic effects on human health. Toxic metals can accumulate persistently in the body over a lifetime.
- Lead can adversely influence the intelligence development of children, cause excessive lead in blood, and induce hypertension, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease.
- Chronic Cadmium exposure can cause acute toxicity to the liver and lungs, induce nephrotoxicity and osteotoxicity, and impair the function of the immune system.
- The element Arsenic is a metalloid and is associated with angiosarcoma and skin cancer.
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