In today’s society we are very concerned with healthier living which mostly involves the consumption of fruits, vegetables and grains. The health consciousness has been brought about by the increased cases of lifestyle diseases caused by poor diet, with most consumers preferring fast foods.
To an average consumer, good looking vegetable or fruits mean high nutritional content, however this may not always be the case. In most African open-air markets and supermarkets where fresh produce is sold there are no requirements set in place to ensure that these products are of good nutritional quality. There is simply no way of telling that a produce is for example pesticide free or it does not contain any contaminants just by looking at it.
Horticultural companies that sell their fresh produce to the European market are required to comply with some set standards which include Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). MRLS refers to the highest level of pesticide residue that is legally tolerated in food or feed when pesticides are applied correctly. The number of residues found in food must be safe for consumers and must be as low as possible. The default lowest limit of analytical determination in Eu law is 0.01mg/kg.
These kinds of laws ensure that the produce sold is of high nutritional quality and is safe for human consumption. In local markets this law is not in place leaving the consumer very vulnerable because some of the chemical used during production have very adverse effects on human health.
In recent years some chemical pesticides have been banned due to their effects on human health, flora or fauna. However some farmers still use them on their produce. Some of the fresh produce sold may have been planted in fields or irrigation water contaminated with high heavy metal content.
To curb these occurrences there is need to put in place and enforce laws that govern and promote good agricultural practices especially in African countries for the good of consumers and the environment as a whole.

