Residents of Tarkwa warned against eating vegetables

Accra, July 22, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Monday warned residents of Tarkwa and its environs against eating cabbage, lettuce, carrot and other related vegetables for health reasons.

The Board has, therefore, endorsed the indefinite ban placed on the sale of the vegetables in area by the Wassa West District Assembly. A statement signed by Mr Karl Tufuoh, Head of Communications Department of FDB, said preliminarily tests conducted on some cabbages served at a restaurant in Tarkwa revealed a high level of organophosphorus pesticides.

It said large quantities of organophosphorus pesticides in the human body lead to a breakdown of the nervous system, which could be fatal. The statement listed contraction of the pupils, tightness in the chest, bronchial secretion, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, wheezing, muscular fatigue and twitching, paralysis, headache, neurosis, insomnia, convulsion and coma as symptoms of the presence of organophosphorus pesticides in humans.