Pesticide and Pathogen Contamination of Vegetables

Authors: P Amoah P Drechsel R C Abaidoo W J Ntow

Publish Date: 2005/11/15

Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-6

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Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine and compare the current level of exposure of the Ghanaian urban population to hazardous pesticide and fecal coliform contamination through the consumption of fresh vegetables produced in intensive urban and periurban smallholder agriculture with informal wastewater irrigation A total of 180 vegetable samples lettuce cabbage and spring onion were randomly collected under normal purchase conditions from 9 major markets and 12 specialized selling points in 3 major Ghanaian cities Accra Kumasi and Tamale The samples were analyzed for pesticide residue on lettuce leaves total and fecal coliforms and helminth egg counts on all three vegetables Chlopyrifos Dursban was detected on 78 of the lettuce lindane Gamalin 20 on 31 endosulfan Thiodan on 36 lambdacyhalothrin Karate on 11 and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane on 33 Most of the residues recorded exceeded the maximum residue limit for consumption Vegetables from all 3 cities were fecally contaminated and carried fecal coliform populations with geometric mean values ranging from 40 × 103 to 93 × 108 g–1 wet weight and exceeded recommended standards Lettuce cabbage and spring onion also carried an average of 11 04 and 27 helminth eggs g–1 respectively The eggs were identified as those of Ascaris lumbricoides Ancylostoma duodenale Schistosoma heamatobium and Trichuris trichiura Because many vegetables are consumed fresh or only slightly cooked the study shows that intensive vegetable production common in Ghana and its neighboring countries threatens public health from the microbiologic and pesticide dimensions Standard recommendations to address this situation better legislations law enforcement or integrated pest management often do not match the capabilities of farmers and authorities The most appropriate entry point for risk decrease that also addresses postharvest contamination is washing vegetables before food preparation at the household or “chop” bar street restaurantThis study was made possible by financial support from IDRC’s International Graduate Research Awards in Urban Agriculture AGROPOLIS and IWMI We are also grateful to Osei Tutu of the Biological Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Knust Ghana for support in data collection

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