Shanghai Establishes Archives for Farm Produce
Source: People's Daily, China

East China's Shanghai Municipality is building a web-based information network that traces agricultural products to their very origins, even the seeds.

Dai Ping, director of the information center of the municipal agricultural committee, said Shanghai will release the first batchof "traceable" eggs this July, with each package of the eggs having its own identification number. Type the number on a specific website, and one can find out which specific farm the eggs are from.

"When disputes involving quality occur, this information systemprovides evidence for the settlement of these disputes," said Dai.

"The ultimate aim is to raise the quality awareness of the farmers and ensure the health of the citizens," said Dai.

He said the system would eventually cover pigs, poultry, eggs, milk and vegetables. In the case of vegetables, even the chemical breakdown of the soil of vegetable plots will be recorded.

As for farm produce from areas outside Shanghai, checkpoints have been established at all entry points. Their time of entry, results of inspection by the checkpoints and their destination will all be recorded on the information system.

Dai expressed confidence in public acceptance of the system andproducts it covered.

He said with ever improving living standards, many Shanghai residents had formed the habit of buying "certified high-quality farm produce" or organic produce, referring to products with low pesticide residue.

"They are a bit expensive, but they are safe. And they are wellworth the money," said a shopper at Lianhua Supermarket.

Dai said the information system would provide better guarantee of the quality of the farm produce.

"There's no doubt they'll enjoy a good market", he predicted.

UC Riverside Scientists Isolate Microorganisms That Break Down A Toxic Pesticide
Source: University Of California - Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Feb. 27, 2003 - Scientists at the University of California, Riverside report in the Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) that they have isolated microorganisms capable of degrading endosulfan, a chlorinated insecticide widely used all over the world and which is currently registered to control insects and mites on 60 U.S. crops. JEQ, established in 1972, is published jointly by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

Bioremediation of contaminated sites and water bodies by using these microbial strains will provide an environment free of endosulfan toxicity, the researchers argue in their paper. The research stands to benefit the agrochemical industry and environmental agencies involved in remediation of soil and water contaminated with organochlorine pesticides. Currently, bioremediation is considered the most cost-effective technology to remediate contaminants, including pesticides. The usefulness of the new technology may be best measured economically in soil and water quality impacted by pesticide spillage, overdosing, and cleanup of agrochemical equipment.

Many health hazards are associated with endosulfan. Endosulfan is a persistent organic pollutant or "POP" that enters the air, water, and soil during its use and manufacture. Owing to the persistence in the environment, residues of endosulfan can enter the food chain and directly affect public health. Endosulfan's residues have also been found in sediments and in surface and ground waters. Endosulfan affects the central nervous system, kidney, liver, blood chemistry and parathyroid gland and has reproductive, teratogenic (causing birth defects) and mutagenic (causing genes to mutate more frequently) effects.

"We have been successful in isolating strains that can use endosulfan as a carbon and energy source," said William Frankenberger, director of the UCR Center for Technology Development and professor of soil science and soil microbiologist at UC Riverside. "Pollutants are rapidly degraded by microorganisms when used as a carbon and energy source. Out of 10 microorganisms isolated and screened for their degradative capabilities towards endosulfan degradation, the strains we isolated - Fusarium ventricosum and Pandoraea sp. - degraded about 90% and 83% of 100 ppm endosulfan, respectively, in 15 days using the pesticide as a carbon and energy source. Other bacterial strains that we isolated using endosulfan as a sulfur source could degrade about 70% endosulfan."

Total average annual use of endosulfan is estimated at approximately 1.38 million pounds of active ingredient. Classified as an organochlorine (the same family of pesticide as DDT and dieldrin), endosulfan and its breakdown products are persistent in the environment with an estimated half-life of 9 months to 6 years. It is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in U.S. water (38 states).

"In isolating these microbial strains, various environmental samples were collected from different sites," said Frankenberger. "Enrichment techniques were used to isolate microbial strains which were capable of degrading endosulfan. The isolated microorganisms were intensively screened for their degradative capabilities towards endosulfan degradation, purified and identified by molecular tools."

The results of the study suggest that these strains are a valuable source of endosulfan-degrading enzymes and may be used for the detoxification of endosulfan in contaminated soils, wastedumps and water bodies, as well as agricultural dealership sites, waste water from recycling plants and unused or expired stockpiles of endosulfan.

This research was conducted in the Department of Environmental Sciences at UC Riverside during 2001-2002. The department offers B.S. and B.A. degrees in Environmental Sciences, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil and Water Sciences. The department is part of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The forerunner of the department was an agricultural chemistry research unit in the world-renowned California Citrus Research Center and Agricultural Experiment Station established in Riverside in 1907.