Agriculture Ministry to confiscate fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue detected on them

The Ministry of Agriculture will confiscate all fruits and vegetables that are detected with pesticide residue on them.

This comes after the Ministry had announced the commencement of the pilot program to screen pesticide residue on vegetables and fruits at municipal markets around the country.

The standards of confiscating vegetables and fruits will be set out by the ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry as part of this program will use the Pesticide Test Kit at its Fiji Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory based at the Koronivia Research Station for pesticide screening.

The Acting Director Crop Research Dr. Apaitia Macanawai says this project will help in the Establishment of a Food Safety Laboratory for Analysis of Pesticide Residue in fruits, vegetables and root crops for quantitative analysis.

The Ministry of Agriculture will also work with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services on standards and regulations to confiscate vegetables found to be unsafe.