Our environment, food and water are all contaminated by these insecticides and pesticides, and can prove to be lethal
TURBAT: The recent cases of food poisoning should serve as an eye-opener. People consume food from eateries thinking they serve fresh and hygienic food, while eateries oftentimes use ingredients that are either expired or have gone bad. Despite the incidents of two siblings dying of food poisoning in Karachi, no proper action has been taken to ensure the quality of the food throughout the city. Owners of eateries continue to prepare food using expired products and cook in unhygienic environments, despite the health risk it poses.
The incident of the five siblings, who hailed from Quetta and had passed away in Karachi, was later found to have occurred due to toxic fumigation chemicals that had mixed with the food as the children ate while sitting on the floor of their guesthouse. This also serves as a horrific reminder of the toxic chemicals we continue to use in our everyday lives, in order to protect ourselves from insects and pests. Our environment, food and water are all contaminated by these insecticides and pesticides, and can prove to be lethal. We must take care of what we are using in our households, while the government must also carry out strict controls on companies producing these. Regular checks on farmers need to be conducted as well, in order to record the type of pesticides they use on their crops, as the vegetables can retain the toxic chemicals. These measures are imperative to ensure the health of our citizens.
Mohammad Meraj
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2019.
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