Vegetables are an important component of our diet. Imagine what if someone asks you that vegetables that you eat on a regular basis are highly contaminated. You will be out of your mind.

As per a study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), the vegetables grown on the food plains of Yamuna have found to contain high doses of lead. If these vegetables are consumed for a long time it may cause serious health issues like cancer or damage organs.

According to a HT report, these vegetables are supplied across the national capital especially in Azadpur, Okhla, Ghazipur mandi. East Delhi is the biggest consumer of these vegetables.

Various samples of vegetables were found to have more than the safe limit of lead, set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The level of the metal detected in vegetable samples collected from the floodplain ranges from 2.8mg/kg to 13.8mg/kg while the safe limit lies at 2.5mg/kg, the report said.

Also read: Fruits and vegetables that detoxify the liver

SK Goyal, senior principal scientist and head of NEERI, Delhi, was quoted as saying by the report, “Samples of at least seven types of winter vegetables were collected from three different locations — Usmanpur, Mayur Vihar and Geeta Colony. They were tested for lead, mercury, nickel, and cadmium. The level of lead in all the samples was found to be higher than Indian permissible limits. The level of other metals in the vegetables was within the limits.”

Giving out the reasons for high doses of lead in vegetables samples in food plains, Goyal said, “The source of lead could be industries dealing in automobile parts, batteries, paint and polythene. Various kinds of usage of lead-based compounds may also be potential sources.”

The study was conducted by NEERI, a research institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in February 2019.

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