After chlordecone, a new food poison in the West Indies? Samples taken by the authorities on the plantains of Guadeloupe have “highlighted an illicit use” of ethephon, a growth activator, on “10% of the samples analyzed”, indicated this Wednesday the prefecture.
The General Directorate of Health, following advice from ANSES (national health security agency), recommends not to consume bananas subjected to the application of ethephon. This phytoregulator, used to accelerate the ripening of certain fruits, is only authorized in Martinique for the cultivation of pineapple, in order to accelerate flowering.
The investigation, to “verify the proper use” of the product on the territory, was launched by the State services, “after the discovery, in Martinique, of batches of plantain bananas treated with ethephon” at the end of August.
A “misleading commercial practice”
The dose noted nevertheless remains “lower” than the reference dose which defines the maximum quantity of substance which can be ingested by the consumer during a short period without risk, specified the prefecture of Guadeloupe in a press release.
It was still “decided by the authorities to extend market surveillance”, she added. The investigation continues “in order to identify the commercial circuits that have allowed the illicit use of this product, and those responsible for this practice”, continues the prefecture. The “possession of this product for illicit use” is a “deceptive commercial practice”, punishable by two years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros, she adds.
The spectrum of chlordecone
At the beginning of October, in Martinique, seizures and arrests took place following the discovery of the use of ethephon and the investigation is continuing “for the purpose of dismantling the network”, indicated the prosecutor of Fort-de -France.
In Guyana, the State services have also launched a campaign to detect this product on plantain bananas.
Guadeloupe and Martinique remain marked by the chlordecone scandal: this pesticide used in the banana fields of the West Indies until 1993 caused significant and lasting contamination of land and populations.