Kannur: Contaminated curry leaves are widely brought to the state, it has been found. Huge amount of pesticide was detected on curry leaves purchased from a shop in Thalassery the other day. The curry leaves brought from Tamil Nadu are widely sold in the state.
A family in Thalassery found the curry leaves, which they bought from the shop, shining unusually. With this, they complained to food safety officer Vimala Mathew and tested in the Regional Analytical Lab in Kozhikode. In the test, traces of pesticide was found on the leaves.
Pesticides known as Chlorpyrifos and Cypermethrin were found. These pesticides can lead to memory loss, dementia, infertility and cancer. The leaves were brought from Tamil Nadu in the first week of October.
There were many complaints regarding curry leaves brought from Tamil Nadu. The forest department had also initiated a scheme to encourage
The food safety department is also checking if any chemicals are used after the leaves were brought to Kerala in order to make them shine. The pesticide content on the leaves can be reduced to an extent if the curry leaves are washed thoroughly in water mixed with turmeric powder, it is learnt.