TOXICITY FROM

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AGRICULTURAL
CHEMICALS

1
 INTRODUCTION
 Several agricultural chemicals are

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intentionally applied to increase yield of field
crops
 As a result contamination may occur in field
during growth and harvesting, or during
transportation, distribution, storage,
processing or even preparation
 There is practically no limit as to the type or
pedigree of the chemicals that can
contaminate the food 2
 INTRODUCTION
 Fertilizers provide necessary nourishment to
plants; fungicides prevent the growth of pathogenic
fungi; herbicides or weed killers eradicate
unwanted plants (weeds), while insecticides and
rodenticides help to control insect- and rodent-
infestations
 Use of these chemicals has drastically increased in
past few decades
 Toxicity of all agricultural chemicals for man and
most domestic animals ranges from none to
extremely toxic 3
 INTRODUCTION
 To ensure consumer safety, these compounds must
be applied in such doses and at such stages that

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when the harvested crops are transported to the
market, most residues would have disappeared
 Some of these compounds are so stable that they or
their modified residues remain in soil or natural
waters for fairly long periods – up to a year or
longer
 Care is always taken by food processors to reduce
any such residues to the safe limits
 Sometimes traces of certain agricultural chemicals
remain on plants or inside plant and animal 4
tissues and enter the human body when such
contaminated foods are eaten
SOME COMMON AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS USED IN FOOD
PRODUCTION

FERTILIZERS INSECTICIDES
Ammonium Organochlorine

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phosphate compounds
Ammonium sulphate Endosulfan
DDT (banned by US
Diammonium
EPA)
phosphate Heptachlor
Iron sulphate Lindane
Potassium sulphate Benzene hexachloride
Trisuper phosphate (BHC)
Urea Organophosphorus
compounds
MOLLUSCIDES Azinophos
Copper sulphate Chlorpyrifos 5
Diazinon
Dichlorovos
SOME COMMON AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS USED
IN FOOD PRODUCTION

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FUNGICIDES RODENTICIDES
Organomercury Alphachloralose
compounds Alphanaphthylthiour
Phenyl mercuric ea (Antu)
chloride Barium carbonate
Phenyl mercuric Fluoroacetates
acetate Norbromide
Ethyl mercuric Pindone
chloride Warfarin
Thiram
6
Chlorophenols
Pentachlorophenol
4.1 TOXICITY FROM PESTICIDES
 Pesticides and insecticides are used for protection of crops
throughout the world

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 In Pakistan more than 70% pesticides are applied on
cotton crop that leave residues in the cotton seed which is
used for oil extraction
 Remaining cake is an ingredient of animal feed, especially
milch cattle
 Heavy and indiscriminate use of pesticides leaves their
residues both in oil and cake which are responsible for
toxicity in humans and animals
 Males exposed to pesticides used for cotton suffer from
decreased fertility, while in females there is an increase in
rate of abortions, still births, neonatal deaths and
congenital defects
 Other symptoms of toxicity include severe giddiness, 7
nervousness, skin, and eye disorders.
4.1 TOXICITY FROM PESTICIDES
 Exposure to various pesticides results in their
accumulation in fruits, berries, vegetables, roots, tubers

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and mushrooms
 Organochlorine compounds have been detected in foods
of animal origin such as meat, milk, butter, fish, eggs
and even in human milk.
 Chronic exposure to organophosphorus insecticides
inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity
 These agents — known as cholinesterase inhibitors —
block the function of acetylcholinesterase and cause
excessive acetylcholine to accumulate that causes
neuromuscular paralysis (i.e. interminable muscle
contractions) throughout the entire body, leading to
death by asphyxiation. 8
4.1.1 ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS
 Pesticides containing organochlorine compounds are widely
used and some of their residues are left in foodstuffs that

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may cause toxicity in man and animals
 These compounds have been detected in plant and animal
products. Benzene hexachloride (BHC) and
dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) are two much
common compounds that remain in the top layers of the soil
and continue to be ingested by livestock and ultimately
accumulate in their tissues
 Meat from such animals can prove toxic to the consumer

 When these chemicals are consumed by lactating cattle,

they appear in the milk and enter the human body through
this medium.
9
4.1.1 ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS
 Fish and other marine life become toxic when
these compounds are washed into waters

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 Their stability and tendency to accumulate in
fatty tissues of man and animals make them a
major public health hazard
 Chronic toxicity from continued consumption of
these toxic substances is common and results in
chronic dyspepsia
 Acute poisoning from a single dose that causes
vomiting and loose motions is rare

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4.1.2 ORGANOPHOSPHORUS
COMPOUNDS
 Health hazards associated with organochlorine

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compounds are now being prevented by using
insecticides containing organophosphorus
compounds
 Two most commonly employed organophosphorus
compounds are malathion and parathion which
have the ability to rapidly degrade to less toxic
residues

11
4.1.2 ORGANOPHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
 Parathion is a very toxic organophosphorus
insecticide absorbed and retained by plants during

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and after their growth
 It is lethal to pests and is equally hazardous to
man
 Causes acute toxicity, occasionally resulting in
fatalities in humans due to careless handling and
disposal of containers
 However, if the organophosphorus insecticides are
used as per recommendations then it is unlikely
that any residue will be found for more than a
week after cessation of treatment
12
 This grossly reduces chances of chronic toxicity
from such chemicals
4.1.3 ACCIDENTAL TOXICITY
 Acute toxicity by agricultural chemicals occurs
when the uptake is through skin or by

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inhalation or when these chemicals are
swallowed either deliberately or through human
carelessness
 World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
that 1,00,000 people annually die from
accidental poisoning by a wide range of
agricultural chemicals, more than estimated toll
from tuberculosis and meningitis combined
 In Pakistan mercury poisoning in 1963 affected
34 people out of which four died after eating 13
grains treated with mercury
4.1.3 ACCIDENTAL TOXICITY
 In another incidence in 1972, workers with improper
clothing, while unloading a consignment of phorate under

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extreme summer conditions, suffered from acute toxicity
 Similarly, endrin poisoning caused acute convulsions in
194 persons due to consumption of contaminated sugar
 Sodium fluoride, an inorganic pesticide, is sold as a white
powder
 It closely resembles powdered milk and baking powder, it
has at times been mistaken for these commodities and
consumed
 A dose of about 3 g is sufficient to cause death in man
 Similarly, barium carbonate, a rat poison, is a white
tasteless and odourless powder
 It has often been consumed mistakenly and has caused 14
acute gastroenteritis accompanied by a tingling sensation
around the mouth.
4.1.3 ACCIDENTAL TOXICITY
 Illness leads to tendon reflexes and various degrees of
paralysis

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 Paraquat, a cheap and effective herbicide, is a deadly
poison with no known antidote
 Quite often peasants buy it in old bottles or plastic jugs

 Children frequently mistake the brown contents for a soft

drink
 These containers, at times, are later used for drinking
water or food storage
 Swallowing less than a teaspoonful quickly causes
vomiting; after entering the bloodstream, paraquat
attacks the liver, kidneys and lungs, leaving most victims
to die within weeks due to massive clogging of the lungs
with impermeable scar tissue 15
4.1.3 ACCIDENTAL TOXICITY
 Acute toxicity by extraneous chemicals also
occurs when foods are accidentally

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contaminated with them
 Such accidents may happen during
transportation of these chemicals with foods
in the same vessel
 One such case was responsible for four
serious outbreaks in Saudi Arabia in 1966
 Wheat flour from the United States of
America was conveyed in two ships that
were also loaded with a cargo of liquid
endrin, a poisonous insecticide 16


 4.1.3 ACCIDENTAL TOXICITY
 During transportation endrin leaked and soiled
the flour bags

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 In the same year, 84 persons suffered from
jaundice in the United Kingdom due to the
consumption of whole meal bread prepared from
contaminated flour
 Contamination occurred when some chemical that
is used as a hardner of resin spilled on the flour in
the van that carried the two products together


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 4.1.4 PREVENTION
 Regulations on the use of agricultural chemicals

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prescribe the maximum permissible levels in foodstuff
meant for human consumption
 Thus, for example, the permissible limits for BHC, DDT,
methoxychlor and malathion in most countries is fixed
at 3 parts per million (ppm), while that for pyrethrum is
10 ppm
 Food items having pesticide content higher than the
permitted limit are considered unfit for human
consumption
 Conscientious efforts by food producers and processors
to conform to these legislations have drastically reduced
the chances of toxicity to the consumer 18
4.1.4 PREVENTION

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 Such accidental consumption of the dangerous
chemicals can be avoided by properly labelling
the containers or by the manufacture of
coloured chemicals
 These chemicals should not be stored in the
kitchen or in food store nor should they be
repacked into another container without proper
labelling

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4.1.4 UNAUTHORISED APPLICATIONS
OF PESTICIDES

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 Pesticides are permitted to be applied to crops
standing in the fields and also to the harvested
produce for controlling the activities of pests in
storage
 This application may vary from spraying the crops
in field to fumigation of the storage atmosphere or
dusting or spraying on the sacks or directly mixing
the pesticide with foodstuff
 Cereal grains and dry legumes left for seed
purposes are normally treated with pesticides
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4.1.4 UNAUTHORISED APPLICATIONS OF
PESTICIDES
 Quantity of the chemical applied is often so much that

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these grains become unfit for human consumption
 Occasionally the treated seeds are consumed in error by
the farmer’s family or are sold out for some reason
 In order to avoid mistaken consumption of the pesticide
treated seeds, it is desirable to use coloured pesticides
for such treatments or properly label the produce
 Direct mixing of pesticides into food grains and legumes
meant for human consumption is permitted for long term
storage and is strictly controlled by government
regulations
 Only a few compounds such as pyrethrum, malathion
and lindane which leave no or minimal toxic residue are21
allowed in prescribed limits
4.1.4 UNAUTHORISED APPLICATIONS OF
PESTICIDES

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 In societies with inadequate legislative control and
low literacy levels, indiscriminate mixing of
pesticides to food commodities occurs
 In Pakistan, it is not uncommon to find farmers and
traders use high doses of pesticides to protect such
items as grains and pulses which are susceptible to
insect attack
 Even vegetables, after harvesting, are sprayed with
insecticides before transporting them for the market
 Consumption of such food results in health disorders
22
in innocent consumers
 4.1.4 UNAUTHORISED APPLICATIONS
OF PESTICIDES
 Besides legal and permitted uses of pesticides, some people

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have found other applications for these toxic chemicals
 One such illegal application is their use by small-scale
fishermen to catch fish in some developing countries
 In Pakistan, India, Nigeria and some other counties some
pesticides (like gamaline) are mixed with bait and thrown
in the river or lake
 Fish after consumption of these toxic substances die and
float on the water
 Fishermen easily harvest dead fish
 Such fish become poisonous and dangerous for consumer
Proper education of the people on use and applications of
these agricultural chemicals can help reduce health
hazards associated with their indiscriminate and 23

unauthorized uses
 4.2 TOXICITY FROM FERTILIZERS
 Application of fertilizers is essential to provide the plants
with essential nutrients
 Fertilizers used in Pakistan primarily provide three

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nutrients, namely nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
 These are often applied without proper data, hence are
quite often used in excess to the plant requirements
 Excess of nitric nitrogen (nitrates) leads to an
accumulation of nitric ions in the plants
 Kale, spinach and celery are often high in nitrates
 These become problematic only when nitrates are
converted into nitrites which result in the development of
“blue baby syndrome” and stomach cancer
 The “blue baby syndrome” or methaemoglobinaemia
occurs in children below one year age who consume
excess of nitrate in their diet 24
 4.2 TOXICITY FROM FERTILIZERS

Excessive nitrogen fertilization in cabbage increases the

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
content of antithyroid factor
 The milk of cows fed on such cabbage carries this factor into
human beings causing serious repercussions on the thyroid
 Nitrous oxide, nitric oxide and ammonia are formed from the
nitrogenous fertilizers
 Nitric oxide causes irritation of the lower respiratory tract,
with more serious effects in high concentrations
 Many heavy metals occur in phosphate fertilizers that
originate from phosphate rocks
 The use of potash fertilizers exhibits no pollution or health
hazard 25