Dept. Of Veterinary Public Health Postgraduate Studies

Meat & Milk Hygiene Division MSc

PESTICIDES RESIDUES IN MEAT/MILK AND ITS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON CONSUMER

HEALTH

A Seminar

Submitted To The Scientific Committee Of The Dep. Of Vet. Publ. Health in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree

of MSc in Meat and Milk Hygiene

By

Pshtiwan Abdulla Abdurrahman

Supervised by Assist. Prof.

DR. Zuhair Ahmed Mohammed

MSc. & PhD

Meat Hygiene

22-Apr-2014 1

Pesticides Residues in Meat/Milk and Its Adverse

Effects on Consumer Health

22-Apr-2014 2

Pesticides are chemicals used to eliminate or control a variety of agricultural pests

that can damage crops and livestock and reduce farm productivity.

Types of Pesticides

A. Chemical Pesticides:

1.Organophosphate Pesticides - These pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting

the enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.

2.Organochlorine Insecticides were commonly used in the past, but many have been

removed from the market due to their health and environmental effects and their

persistence (e.g. DDT and chlordane).

22-Apr-2014 3

3.Carbamate Pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting an enzyme that

regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. The enzyme effects are usually reversible.

4.Pyrethroid Pesticides were developed as a synthetic version of the naturally occurring

pesticide pyrethrin, which is found in chrysanthemums.

22-Apr-2014 4

B-Pesticides can also be classified by:

1.Target organism (e.g. Herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides).

2.Physical state (e.g. Gaseous (fumigant).

3.Biopesticides include microbial pesticides and biochemical pesticides.

4.Plant-derived pesticides, or "botanicals", have been developing quickly.

These include the pyrethroids, rotenoids, nicotinoids, and a fourth group that

includes strychnine and scilliroside.

22-Apr-2014 5

The most commonly applied pesticides are:-

1. Insecticides (to kill insects)

2.Herbicides (to kill weeds)

3.Rodenticides (to kill rodents)

4.And fungicides (to control fungi, and mold,).

22-Apr-2014 6

22-Apr-2014 7

22-Apr-2014 8

The latest US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) information on US pesticide

usage, from 2013, reports that over 1.4 billion tons of pesticides are used in the US

every year.

This is 22% of the estimated 6.2 billion pounds of pesticides used worldwide.

Agricultural use accounted for 80% of pesticide use in the US.

Of the pesticide classes, herbicides are the most widely used in all US sectors.

22-Apr-2014 9

Pesticides are tested and approved for use by the EPA, which establishes

“tolerances,” or maximum residue levels (MRL), that describe the amount of a

given pesticide that can safely remain in or on a food.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is then responsible for monitoring

pesticide levels on fruits and vegetables, while the US Department of Agriculture

(USDA) is charged with the task of surveying pesticide residues in meat, eggs, and

dairy products.

22-Apr-2014 10

There are over 350,000 current and historic pesticide products registered in the

United States, and the pesticide business is a 12.5 billion dollar industry in the US

alone.

According to Cornell entomologist David Pimentel, “it has been estimated that only

0.1% of applied pesticides reach the target pests, leaving the bulk of the pesticides

(99.9%) to impact the environment.

22-Apr-2014 11

Harmful environmental impacts of pesticide use include:

1. Loss of biodiversity and elimination of key species (e.g., bees)

2. Water pollution

3. Soil contamination

4. Pest resistance, resulting in the need for increased application of pesticides, or

formulation of alternate pesticides.

22-Apr-2014 12

22-Apr-2014 13

22-Apr-2014 14

Pesticides and Public Health

Pesticides have been linked to a number of health problems, including neurologic

and endocrine (hormone) system disorders, birth defects, cancer, and other

diseases.

In children, exposure to certain pesticides from residues in food can cause

delayed development; disruptions to the reproductive, endocrine, and immune

systems; certain types of cancer; and damage to other organ.

22-Apr-2014 15

22-Apr-2014 16

Several studies have found that pesticide levels in children dropped to low or

undetectable levels when test subjects consumed an organic diet.

Farmworkers are also highly vulnerable to these health threats due to intensive

exposure to a variety of pesticides, either from applying these chemicals or from

harvesting pesticide-sprayed agricultural products.

22-Apr-2014 17

Pesticides and Animal Feed

Approximately 80% of the corn and 22% of the wheat produced in the US

every year is used for animal feed, while 30 million tons of US-produced soy

meal is consumed annually as livestock feed.

In addition to causing environmental damage, when grain is grown with

pesticides and then fed to livestock, pesticide residues can accumulate in the

animals' fatty tissue and milk.

22-Apr-2014 18

Minimizing Pesticide Residues in Food

For meat and dairy products, it is best to consume foods that contain less fat, since

pesticides typically accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals.

Purchase skim milk or low-fat dairy products and remove the fat from cuts of meat

before you cook them.

The best way to avoid consuming pesticides along with your food is to eat organic

produce, meat, and dairy products.

Organic food is grown and processed without being treated with pesticides.

Washing fruits and vegetables helps remove some pesticide residues – but only for

certain pesticides (others are not affected by washing).

Peeling fruits and vegetables is a more effective method of removing pesticide

residue

22-Apr-2014 19

To ensure the safety of food supply, EPA sets tolerances, or maximum residue limits

(MRL), on the amount of pesticide residue that can lawfully remain in or on each

treated food commodity.

In establishing tolerances, EPA considers the toxicity of each pesticide, how much of

the pesticide is applied and how often, and how much of the pesticide (i.e., the

residues) remains in or on food. An added margin of safety ensures that residues

remaining in foods are many times lower than amounts that could actually cause

adverse health effects

22-Apr-2014 20