52% of organic products not truly organic!

In its issue of June 7, Al Akhbar newspaper shed light on a recent study by the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission affiliated with the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS). The survey examined 63 samples of so-called ‘organic’ and non-organic products selected from three types of crops, namely oranges, grapes and cucumbers. The samples, Al Akhbar wrote, were collected during the summer of 2018 from the market or directly from organic farms across Lebanon and were tested for residues of some 73 pesticides certified by the ministry of agriculture. Results have shown that nearly 52.38% of the organic samples contained multi-pesticide residue and that 15% have exceeded the level allowed by the Codex Alimentarius internationally recognized standards (Food Code) and the European Union, Al Akhbar said. Also, some of the ‘organic’ agricultural products were highly contaminated with more than one type of pesticide. On the other hand, the study indicated that, around 73.33% of the non-organic crop samples contained insecticide residues, with 18.18% of these crops beating the level allowed by Codex and EU. According to the said survey, the main hitch facing non organic farming and farmers is their non-compliance with the specifications and conditions of the use of pesticides, in terms of quality, the quantity used and the time between spraying and harvesting. In conclusion, the study recommended endorsing the role of the ministries of agriculture and economy to monitor the sector and the need to spread awareness among farmers on the concept of organic farming. (More on the following link: : https://bit.ly/2I7qgpk). (Al Akhbar, June 7, 2019)