Pesticide content in fruit to be regulated<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will soon issue a ruling on the
\nstandardization of content of pesticide residue in fruits and
\nvegetables to protect consumers, says a senior official.<\/p>\n
Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said on Monday
\nthat the ruling on the standardization of pesticide residue is
\nnow being processed.<\/p>\n
\"We hope we can issue the ruling within the next few days,\" he
\ntold reporters about the government's plan in curbing the
\ncontinued increase in imported fruits in the country.<\/p>\n
He, however, said the main idea behind the standardization of
\nthe tolerable limit of the pesticide residue in fruits and
\nvegetables is \"to protect consumers rather than to curb the
\ncontinued increase in imported fruits\".<\/p>\n
The pesticide standardization would, in the first step, be
\napply to six fruits such as apples, pears and grapes, most of
\nwhich are imported from Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\"Samples of all imported fruits would be checked at designated
\nlaboratories. If the content of their pesticide residue is above
\nthe tolerable limit, the sale of the fruit on the domestic market
\nwould be prohibited,\" he said about the mechanism in applying the
\nnew ruling.<\/p>\n
Winarno, the director for the development of horticulture in
\nthe Ministry of Agriculture, said yesterday that imported fruits
\nsold in the country not only have a high pesticide content but
\nare also of low grade.<\/p>\n
\"That's why they are very cheap,\" he told Antara news agency.
\n\"The quality of imported fruits is often poorer than those
\nproduced at home.\"<\/p>\n
Bungaran Saragih, a professor at Bogor Agriculture University,
\nshared Winarno's view that most of the cheap imported fruits sold
\nin the country is of poor quality.<\/p>\n
\"Most fruits entering Indonesia are of poor quality. They are
\nflooding into the country... that's why they are very cheap,\"
\nSaragih said.<\/p>\n
The prices of imported fruits does, in fact, cover only
\ntransportation costs, he noted.<\/p>\n
Imported fruits, which previously were sold only supermarkets,
\nare now even available in traditional markets, an impact of the
\ngovernment's move to open up the country's farm market in the
\nlate 1980s. (hen)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pesticide-content-in-fruit-to-be-regulated-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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