New Delhi: A consignment of 1,250 tonnes of
wheat imported from Australia was detained at the Chennai port
because it contained pesticides beyond permissible limits,
rendering it unfit for human consumption, Parliament was
informed Friday.
The consignment, valued at Rs 1.78 crore, was detained by
the Customs Department at the Chennai port on a "reasonable"
suspicion that it contained pesticides beyond permissible
levels, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam told
the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
"The Central Food Laboratory in Mysore has confirmed that
the consignment was found to contain a pesticide residue,
chlorpyrifos, at the rate of 0.7 miligrams per kilogram, which
exceeds the maximum permissible limit of 0.05 Mg/Kg and was
unfit for human consumption," he said.
He added that all the ports' customs formations as well
as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are on alert to
prevent the import of toxic wheat into the country.
PTI
First Published: Friday, April 23, 2010, 16:17