EFFECT OF PROCESSING ON PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOOD CROPS - A REVIEW

The use of pesticides is inevitable to control the pests in different crops, fruits and vegetable plants. It is increasing day by day in Pakistan. The persistent use of pesticides leaves behind toxic residues on food crops. These pesticides upon ingestion exert adverse effects on human health, in addition to disturbing ecosystem. The organochlorine, organophosphorus, carbamates and pyrethroid pesticides have been detected in samples of fruits and vegetables collected from various locations of the world especially in Indo-Pakistan. Most of the samples contained toxic residues exceeding maximum residues limits. Experiments have been carried out to determine the reduction in pesticide residues due to various processing techniques like washing, peeling, frying, freezing and cooking of fruits and vegetables. Likewise treatment of food crops with acidic or alkaline solution also minimized the pesticide residues. This paper reviews the literature published upto the year 2009 focusing on the injurious effects of pesticides and their degradation by processing and chemical treatment. In this literature, it is suggested that different processing operations can be effectively applied on fruits and vegetables to minimize the risk of pesticides on human health.