BEIRUT: While page after page of restaurants were implicated for contaminated meat and dairy products, agriculture experts say the public should think twice before seeking refuge in a vegetarian diet. Scientists and researchers say that fruits and vegetables grown in Lebanon have excessive rates of pesticides, fertilizers and raw sewage irrigation. Unsafe agricultural and handling practices abound, and gaps in hygiene monitoring leave fruits and vegetables still laced with contamination by the time they reach the plate.
“The bacterial contamination of fresh produce can take place at any stage of the food chain,” said Dima Faour-Klingbeil, a doctoral student collaborating with AUB’s department of Agriculture on studies of produce hygiene.
Conducting research partially funded by Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, she has found hygiene measures to be deficient at all stages of production, and said they include “the use of unsanitary harvesting [of produce] and handling equipment, water, inadequate hand-washing and improper fertilizers.”
In case studies not yet published, tracing the hygienic practices of 10 leading growers of leafy vegetables, she showed a lack of safety mechanisms along all aspects of the supply chain, as well as high levels of fecal contamination in the vegetables of Bekaa Valley-based farmers.
Vegetables that had been sent from farms and processed through washing facilities carried contaminants, including salmonella, E. coli, listeria and staphylococcus.
“That means that when it was washed, it was still contaminated,” Faour-Klingbeil said.
A complimentary study by Faour-Klingbeil, recently submitted for publication, showed deficiencies in knowledge and food handling practices among staff at small and medium restaurants.
While raw sewage use was not common, Faour-Klingbeil found at least two farmers who had tapped into sewage lines to fertilize crops.
“Those who use it said that it gives them more volume,” she said.
While Faour-Klingbeil emphasized that her studies cannot be generalized, due to small sample sizes taken from limited geographical areas, she said her findings demonstrate a great need for further research to build baseline data for food control and policy that tackles root causes of contamination.
The Bekaa Valley is Lebanon’s agricultural heartland. Crops are fed by the Litani River, the main source of irrigation. However, recent years have seen the Litani increasingly polluted with industrial dumping, hospital waste and raw sewage.
In 2012,The Daily Star reported on the result of a study that showed “an increase in typhoid, hepatitis and nitrates in the bodies of those who live near the waterway.”
The study specified that both chemical and microbiological contaminants were feeding the area’s agricultural products. In the summer, the smell emanating from the drought-parched river has residents seeking escape from their homes.
Proposing a solution in mid-2014, the Environment Ministry unveiled a $730 million proposal to address the Litani’s contamination, including improved control over solid waste and industrial waste, as well as expanding waste water treatment. Contamination comes from microbiological E. coli and chemical sources, such as fertilizers.
Analysis of parsley and lettuce from water in produce washing facilities showed the presence of salmonella, listeria and fecal contamination. Leafy vegetables such as these, eaten raw, are particularly vulnerable to contamination.
Hadi Tabbara, a local water and agriculture consultant, said that “E. coli persists in the stomata and veins of leaves, particularly in leafy vegetables, and resists washing even with disinfectants.”
Practices that lead to hazardous produce are not confined to Lebanon, in fact they have increased worldwide, as farmers turn to untreated sewage for fertilizer, especially where fresh water resources are scarce, but the associated risk to human health is high.
Treating sewage can make it safe for agricultural use by deactivating pathogens, but if left raw, it can carry serious health hazards. “Bacteria such as Pathogenic E. coli, salmonella, listeria, cryptosporidium, and campylobacter and viruses such as hepatitis, all found in untreated raw manure or sewage can cause diseases and even death,” Tabbara said.
Knowledge of foodborne illnesses is lacking in Lebanon, Tabbara said,“there is no system in place for identifying, tracing and reporting outbreaks or long-term monitoring of possible illnesses due to food or water poisoning.”
He added that it is more difficult to identify the source of contamination in vegetables, versus meat. “While it is relatively easier to trace contaminated meat or water sample, traceability with vegetables is more complicated,” as contamination could occur at any point along the chain, be it production, harvesting, storage or distribution.
Scientists and policymakers also cited the overuse of chemical fertilizers and nitrate contamination.
Talal Darwich, affiliated with the National Council for Scientific Research and former manager of water projects, found high levels of nitrate, a carcinogen, in groundwater and wells along the Litani River. On visits to farms, he witnessed the use of raw sewage irrigation and called for more testing on nitrate and heavy metal leeching.
The Agriculture Ministry also found excessive nitrate levels due to over fertilization to be a recurring problem. Press Secretary, Nabil Abi Ghanem, speaking on behalf of the Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb, said that the ministry is focused on raising awareness, and controlling the source of pesticides and fertilizers.
He pointed to smuggling illicit fertilizers and pesticides from Syria, citing the insecure borders as a challenge to monitoring and enforcement. “Many don’t know what harmful substances are. We are trying to raise awareness on what is safe and not,” he said.
The ministry is focused on water cleanliness and safe irrigation at this time, and, according to Abi Ghanem, the extension office works with farmers to increase education on safe fertilization and pest control.
He felt that the recent food safety campaign was a positive step, as “farmers and producers know that harmful inputs will prevent their products from being sold in Lebanon, or exported.”
The food safety law that has yet to pass Parliament must include the work of all ministries involved to ensure safety at all points, experts say. Restaurant citations and sampling will not address contamination at the source.
Pulling from her research results, Faour-Klingbeil, the doctoral student, said produce safety must be addressed before food reaches restaurants, where it becomes challenging to pinpoint the origin of chemical and microbiological hazards. “It could be coming from the restaurant, but it could very well be coming from the primary source: farms.”
She said that education and awareness in both restaurants and farms were necessary, and those interviewed in her studies indicated willingness to learn.
“There should be food safety regulations that include standards regarding the final product, practices in the food supply chain and traceability within the supply chain,” she said, adding that lack of transparency and government control were the main barriers to not complying and implementing hygiene measures.
“We don’t have clear guidelines in Lebanon,” Faour-Klingbeil said, suggesting the formation of a food safety law that would include the control of unsafe farming practices, ensure adequate infrastructures and storage conditions and incentives for farms to rely on sustainable and clean water irrigation.
