Wash all your fruits and vegetables. According to the CSE, washing them with 2% of salt water will remove most of the contact pesticide residues that normally appear on the surface of the vegetables and fruits….Blanch and Peel

There are various ways to minimize pesticide intake through food: – Washing fruits and vegetables before consumption- there are various products available as fruits and vegetable washers which are developed to remove the pesticides. Rinsing with warm water removes pesticides from the surface of fruits and vegetables.

9 Ways To Avoid Pesticide Residues In Food

1. Always Wash The Produce Before Eating Them.
2. Grow Your Own Fruits And Veggies In Your Garden.
3. Buy Only Unsprayed Or Organic Products.
4. Dry The Produce Before Consumption.
5. Harvest Your Products From The Forest.
6. Never Rinse Your Fruits And Vegetables With Soap.
7. Use Only Organic Repellents For Your Garden.
8. Peel The Outer Layers.

1. Pesticides.
2. Fruits.
3. Vegetables.
4. Toxic.

Blanching, cooking and frying Believe or not, the processing of food will also lower pesticide residue. One study shows that blanching, cooking and frying are all very effective at lowering the concentration of pesticide residues. These cooking processes can reduce residues by 40-50%.

You can also reduce pesticide residues on produce by peeling it. Plus, peeling won’t remove pesticides that penetrate the skin of the plant. Interestingly, blanching, boiling, and frying reduce pesticide levels, but frying isn’t a healthy way to prepare vegetables and boiling destroys vitamins.

Boiling is very effective for dislodging the pesticide particles from the fruit/vegetable surface (both water soluble and insoluble particles). 2. Most pesticides, especially the organophosphate ones are susceptible to the heat.

Pesticide half-lives can be lumped into three groups in order to estimate persistence. These are low (less than 16 day half-life), moderate (16 to 59 days), and high (over 60 days). Pesticides with shorter half-lives tend to build up less because they are much less likely to persist in the environment.

Pesticides and human health: Pesticides can cause short-term adverse health effects, called acute effects, as well as chronic adverse effects that can occur months or years after exposure. Examples of acute health effects include stinging eyes, rashes, blisters, blindness, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea and death.

Many insecticides can cause poisoning after being swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Symptoms may include eye tearing, coughing, heart problems, and breathing difficulties.

Long-term exposure to pesticides can cause loss of memory, anxiety, mood changes, and trouble concentrating. Damage to the immune system: Some pesticides weaken the immune system, which protects the body from disease.

Environmental Effects Chemical pesticides are known to pollute the environment. too much movement can transfer a pesticide away from the target pest. This can lead to reduced pest control, contamination of surface water and groundwater and injury of non-target species, including humans.”

Impact on environment Pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf, and other vegetation. In addition to killing insects or weeds, pesticides can be toxic to a host of other organisms including birds, fish, beneficial insects, and non-target plants.

Mix pesticides, clean equipment and rinse containers in an area where pesticides and rinse water cannot enter sewers or storm drains. Keep pesticides out of waters and areas near waters. Minimize potential harm to birds, beneficial insects, and fish by using pesticides only when necessary.

“When pesticides are sprayed they can drift and settle on playgrounds, porches, laundry, toys, pools, furniture and more,” reports the non-profit Pesticide Action Network (PAN).

Pesticides in agriculture and urban settings have the potential to contaminate our air, affecting human, animal and plant health. Pesticides released into the air can settle to the ground, be broken down by sun light and water in the atmosphere, or dissipate into the surrounding air.

Pesticides have been reported to cause several adverse health effects which depend on the extent and duration of exposure. Health effects of pesticides range from mild allergies, rashes, breathing difficulties, neurotoxicity and reproductive abnormalities to deadly chronic diseases like cancer.

Keep these tips in mind to prevent pesticide contamination of water supplies:

1. Always read the label carefully before each and every use.
2. Choose pesticides that are short-lived in the environment rather than pesticides that can persist for a long time after they have been applied.

Potential point sources of pesticides include pesticide manufacturing plants, mixing-and-loading facilities, spills, waste water recharge facilities (wells or basins), waste disposal sites, and sewage treatment plants.

Types of Pesticides

• Insecticides – insects.
• Herbicides – plants.
• Rodenticides – rodents (rats & mice)
• Bactericides – bacteria.
• Fungicides – fungi.
• Larvicides – larvae.

The naturally occurring contact insecticides include nicotine, developed from tobacco; pyrethrum, obtained from flowers of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium and Tanacetum coccineum; rotenone, from the roots of Derris species and related plants; and oils, from petroleum.

Pesticides may become airborne, get into soil, enter bodies of water, or be taken up by plants and animals. The environmental fate of pesticides depends on the physical and chemical properties of the pesticide as well as the environmental conditions.

Top 10 Pesticide Pros & Cons – Summary List

Unfortunately, research shows that peeling alone is not enough to eliminate pesticides. Pesticides can penetrate into the underlying flesh of the fruit or vegetable and not be accessible to peeling. Even washing a piece of produce thoroughly doesn’t remove all traces of pesticides.

China

Maharashtra

The most commonly used insecticides are the organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates (see Figure 1).

Bhutan