This document discusses various issues related to food safety in horticulture in India. It notes that while food production has increased significantly due to the Green Revolution, declining resources, increasing population and malnutrition present ongoing challenges. Ensuring safe food is important to prevent food-borne illnesses and promote international trade. Food safety must be maintained throughout the production chain. The government has established several organizations and regulations to set standards and assure quality, though continuing efforts are needed to reduce risks from pesticides, microbes and other contaminants in horticultural crops.

1. Drug and Chemical Residues as Hazards
to Food Safety in Horticulture
S.K. Malhotra
Horticulture Commissioner,
Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and
Assistant Director General (Horticulture),
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi

2. Let us have short overview about
……
• Situation of Food and Nutrition
• Can we produce to meet growing needs ?
in the Changing Scenario

3. Emerging Scenario
• Growing population
• Declining land and water
• Increasing malnutrition
• New diseases, pests and
uncertainty of weather
• Global prices of food
shooting up
• Safe food for consumption
• Task –
• Food,
• Fodder
• Fibre
• Fuel
and Health care

4. How Indian agric. Has changed in past 60 years
• Since 1950-51- increase in production :
 Food grains - 4.5 times,
 Horticultural crops - 11 times,
 Fish - 9 times
 Milk - times &
 Eggs 27 times
id Rapid stride
Laudable achievements
• India's transformation from a food deficit to a
food surplus country
• But increasing demand for food grains, fruits,
vegetables & others and food safety are of concern

5. The green revolution
Adoption of HYVs
Use of agro-chemicals
Irrigation
The green
revolution
enabled
India’s food
production to
keep up with
population
growth.

6. Declining Fertilizer Response
Low Fertilizer Response - Irrigated Areas
13.4
11
8.2
7
5.8
4.9
4.1 3.7
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Response ratio (kg
grain/kg NPK)

7. Pesticide use
• Pesticide use is still rising sharply across the
world, although growth has slowed in the U.S.
•1 billion kg
(2 billion lbs.)
of pesticides are
applied each year
in the U.S.
• In India 82000
metric ton (21000
mt for fruits-veg.
(750g/ha)

8. Foods- sustain life
• Absolute safe food - which will not cause any
damage or harm to human body.
• Our food is subject to contamination

9. Specific food safety issues
• Fertilizers and other plant growing aids
• Pesticides
• Microbiological contamination
• Additives, colours and flavours
• Antibiotics and other food additives
• Irradiation
• Naturally occurring food toxicants
• Nutrition
• Pollutants
• Processing, packaging and labeling
Hazards: Physical, Chemical, Biological

10. 29/11/14 10

11. Food Borne Infections
Bacterial food borne infections include Cholera,
salmonellosis, typhoid fever, shigellosis,
Yersiniosis Escherichia coli infection
Campylobacteriosis, Vibrio parahemolyticus and
Listeriosis
Mycotic food borne infections include Candida
spp., Sporothrix spp., Wangiella spp. etc),
Viral food borne infections include hepatitis A ,
Norwak virus and poliomyelitis virus
Food borne infections and intoxications

12. Worm & Microorganism infection
 Threadworms, Roundworms, tapeworms
and flukes
 Microorganism cause such things as
abdominal plain and diarrhoea.

15. Effect of crude oxytocin injection on length (cm) of
bottle gourd fruits

16. Effect of crude oxytocin injection on diameter (cm) of
bottle gourd fruits

17. Wax…. Free….. ?????

18. PPeeooppllee wwiitthh aa hhiigghheerr rriisskk ooff
ffooooddbboorrnnee iillllnneessss
PPrreeggnnaanntt
wwoommeenn
IInnffaannttss
YYoouunngg cchhiillddrreenn aanndd
oollddeerr aadduullttss
People with weakened
immune system and
individuals with certain
chronic diseases
A REPORT: By reducing 20 to 10
μg/kg aflatoxins – 300 cancers/
billion/year can be avoided

19. Why food safety ?
Food safety ensures :
•Prevention of food borne diseases
•Provides nutrition and good quality to the
consumer
•Promotes international trade and stimulates
economic development.
•Guarantee that food has no negative effects on
health of consumer

20. Food safety -two basic concepts
• Toxicity (capacity of a substa nce to produce harm or injury)
and
• Hazard (relative probability that harm or injury will result
when the substance is used in a proposed manner & quantity)

21. Maintaining Food safety
Essential in the entire chain of food production:
•Raw agricultural commodity at farm level,
•Primary processing (on-farm processing),
•Secondary food processing level such as canning,
freezing, drying and packing,
•Food distribution both at national and international
level;
•Food retailing, food catering and domestic food
preparation.
Farmer, growers, manufacturers and processors, food
handlers and consumers – responsibility for quality

22. What is food quality?
• Quality - characteristics of food which determine
the degree of its acceptability by the consumer.
• Quality means product meets consumer
expectations
• Quality is overall, consumer’s satisfaction and
value worth, which he is paying.
Quality characteristics :
Sensory characteristics – Colour, gloss, viscosity, size
and shape, kinesthetic of texture and flavour.
Hidden characteristics – Nutritive value, adulterants
and toxins (microbial toxins, pesticide residues or
heavy metals)

23. Organizations looking after food safety and quality
• National –
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
Directorate of Marketing & Inspection
(Agmark)
• International –
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)
International Standards Organization (ISO)
Association of Official Agri. Chemists (AOAC)
United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA)
Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)
Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR)

24. National/International Regime:
Food Safety
FSSAI/FAO, WHO, WTO, CODEX, OIE,
IPPC including SPS, TBT
1.Consumer Safety (Prime Importance)
2. Fair Trade Practice (Fraud/Adulteration)

25. National Food Legislations
• Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and Rules, 1955
• Agriculture Produce Act, 1937 (AGMARK) Grading and Marketing
• Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986
• Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Rules, 1989
• Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963
• Essential Commodities Act, 1955
• Insecticides Act, 1968
• Standard of Weights and Measures Act, 1976
• Fruit Product Order, 1955
• Meat Product Control Order, 1973
• Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order,
1967
• Milk and Milk Product Order, 1992
• Vegetable Oil Products (Regulation) Order, 1998
• Edible Oil Packaging (Development and Regulation) Order, 1998

26. Food safety & quality assurance programs
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Point (HACCP)
Total Quality Management (TQM)
International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement
(SPS)

27. Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)
Estab/1963 to implement FAO/WHO joint food standard
programme.
About 150 countries including India are member of CAC.
Codex India is the National Codex Contact Point (NCCP)
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, New Delhi.
Codex standards comprise standards for –
 processed frozen fruits and vegetables,
 fruit juices,
 fats and oils,
 milk products,
 cereals and pulses,
 fish and poultry products,
 cocoa products, and
 standard methods of analysis.
These standards, guidelines and recommendations are recognized
worldwide

28. Activities done by CAC
Formulation of standards for 237 food
commodities,
Formulation of 41 codes of hygienic practices,
Evaluation of 185 pesticides,
Prescription of tolerance limits for
contaminants,
Developing guidelines for 25 contaminants,
Evaluation of 1005 food additives, and
Evaluation of 54 veterinary drugs.

29. Represented India in CODEX – CCFFV
(Okra, Ware Potato, Brinjal)
(24-28 February, 2014, Phuket, Thailand)

30. Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement (SPS)
The agreement on sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions
for food export.
Signed during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations
between WTO member countries (1988).
Aims at ensuring the health and life-safety of plants,
animals and humans in any country.
Specifies the minimum hygiene standards that must be
complied with by the exporting countries.
Allows member countries to implement their own
standards.
Four broad categories of standards –
1. Product standards
2. Process standards
3. Testing standards
4. Certification standards

31. Standard setting agencies in India
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MFPI)
FSSAI
Export Inspection Council (EIC)
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) –
NCCP in India
Agricultural and Processed Food Product
Development Authority (APEDA)
Marine Products Export Development
Authority (MPEDA)

32. National Regime:
Ensuring Food Safety
National Food Control System
(Primary Responsibility)
•Single Competent Authority
•Multiple Competent Authorities
In India: FSSAI (Domestic & Import), EIC
(Export), APEDA, MPEDA, Spice Board,
Tea Board etc.

33. National Accreditation for pesticide residue analysis
and Virus Indexing

34. Recommended hygiene practices
When tested by appropriate methods of sampling
and examination the product :
•shall be free from microorganisms in amounts
which may represent a hazard to health;
•shall be free from parasites which may represent a
hazard to health; and
•shall not contain any substance originating from
microorganisms in amounts which may represent a
hazard to health.

35. Good Agriculture Practices
Is a holistic production management system
•Sustainable, eco-friendly, free from
contamination
•Avoids/largely excludes chemical fertiliser,
pesticides etc.
•Mainly rely on organic farming system
including crop rotation, legume, green manure,
compost, biological pest control etc.

36. Protected cultivation to address the challenge of
shrinking land and changing climate

37. PROTECTED CULTIVATION
Tomato (300 t/ha/year) Capsicum (200 t/ha/year)

38. Hi-tech nursery
• For off season nursery and crops
• Improved quality
• Increased Productivity
• Reduced incidence of diseases and
pests

39. 39
Micro-propagation a success story in
Banana
 Development of disease-free
planting material
 Mass multiplication of
vegetatively propagated
plants
 Safe exchange for disease
safety

41. MICROGREENS-"vegetable
confetti”
4 to 40 fold more concentrated with nutrients like vitamin
29/11/14
C, vitamin E, vitamin K, lutein and beta-carotene.
41

42. Methyl Bromide banned- impetus to
soilless farming era
• Faced with a 2005 ban on methyl
bromide as a soil fumigant,
• alternate strategies started developing
with soilless/hydroponic farming being
one of the major one
29/11/14 42

44. Wheel Hoe Power Weeder

45. Organic cultivation
Organic tomato
(50-60 t/ha)
Organic French beans
( 18-20 t/ha)
Organic Cabbage
( 50-55 t/ha)

46. What types of biofertilizers are available?
For Nitrogen
•Rhizobium for legume crops.
•Azotobacter/Azospirillum for non-legume crops.
•Acetobacter for sugarcane only.
•Blue –Green Algae (BGA) and
•Azolla for low land paddy.
•Green manuring
For Phosphorous
•PSB/Phosphatika
• AM fungi
•For enriched compost
•Cellulolytic fungal culture

47. Plant health management
Pest management
•Knowledge of prominent pest and diseases of given crop
•Time of resurgence of pests/diseases
•Prevention/eradication by prevailing traditional practices
•Biological/physical/ natural pest / disease control
•Neem products
•Tulasi/ Karanj products
•Pheromones
•Trichoderma viride –bio-control

48. Bio control agents
• Bio-agents like Trichogramma, NPV
and Paecilomyces for control of pests
• Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Bacillus
for reducing soil-borne pathogens
HPS

49. Fruit fly pheromone trap
No. of trap sold: 2,38,687
No of traps /ac : 6
Area covered : 39,781 ac
Crop loss savings per acre : 4 quintals
Farm gate sale price : Rs.16/- kg
Economic impact : Rs 25.46 crores

50. Integrated Pest Management
Trap crops CABBAGE

51. Lime harvester
PPoosstt hhaarrvveesstt tteecchhnnoollooggyy
Guava harvester Kinnow
Sapota harvester harvester

52. PPoosstt hhaarrvveesstt tteecchhnnoollooggyy
Hot water treatment plant
•Capacity :1 ton/hour
•Anthracnose control :52°C for 5 minutes
•Fruit fly control :46°C for 65 minutes

53. Threshing of Seeds
Trampling Beating

55. Mechanized cultivation
1. Vegetable transplanter
2. Potato and Garlic planter
3. Direct seeding of onion, okra,
chillies using machines
4. Potato and Onion harvesters
5. Grafting robot
Grafting Robot
Mulch laying machine

56. Post harvest management
• Pre-cooling
• Controlled Atmosphere Storage
• Packaging systems
• Traceability
Packing
Cold chain management Shrink Wrapping

57. Cold Chain Enablers (the tools)

58. Key Priorities
• Creating an integrated and competitive
supply chains for horticulture
• Establishing good practices in food chain
• Enhance our ability to identify food safety
risks
• Improve our inspections of domestic and
imported foods
• Awareness

59. Good Practices in Food Chain
 Good Agricultural Practices- land
use , pesticide use
 Good Catering Practices- ensure
food served is safe and wholesome
 Good Hygiene Practices-
 Good Laboratory Practices-
Quality control and analytical labs
 Good Manufacturing Practices
 Good Retail Practices- tracing
system to track faulty product
 Good Storage Practices
 Good Transport Practices
 Good Nutrition and House keeping
Practices

60. Improved food safety
Less illness, Less Medical and
Social costs and Less Poverty
Food trade access
International trade
capability
Safe national trade
Improved health
Improved
participation in
national development
Overall
Development

62. Important Pillars of National
Food Control System
• Legislation/Regulation
• Inspection
• Testing (Backbone) Food Chemist
• Enforcement

63. Food Testing
1. Testing: To do something in order to discover that Food
Product is safe, meets the requirements of standard and
implied needs
2. Analysis: To study or examine Food Product in detail
to discover more about its quality and safety
3. Inspection: Look at Food Product including label
carefully that everything is correct and legal
4. Sampling: A sample which is representative of a
lot/consignment

64. National Regime:
Ensuring Food Safety
National Food Control System
(Primary Responsibility)
•Single Competent Authority
•Multiple Competent Authorities
In India: FSSAI (Domestic & Import), EIC
(Export), APEDA, MPEDA, Spice Board, Tea
Board etc.