India's farmers are using banned pesticides on fruits and vegetables destined for sale on the domestic market, a new study has suggested.

A survey by Delhi-based NGO Consumer Voice found traces of internationally-banned chemicals on common fruits and vegetables sold at various wholesale and retail stores in Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata, reports the Times of India.

Laboratory tests at a government-approved facility on collected samples of bitter gourd and spinach revealed traces of chloradane, endrin and heptachor, which can cause serious neurological problems, kidney damage and skin disease.

Samples of ladies finger contained levels of toxic pesticide captan of up to 15,000 parts per billion (ppb), well above EU limits of 20 ppb, the report said. While cauliflower samples contained malathion traces up to 150 times higher than European standards.

Other vegetables studied included potato, tomato, snake gourd, pumpkin, cabbage, cucumber and bottle gourd.

A Consumer Voice survey of fruits sold on Indian markets last month found high levels of pesticides violating Indian and EU standards on 12 different items, including grapes, apples and bananas.

Sisir Ghosh, head of Consumer Voice, said his group had informed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India about 'the excessive use of pesticides in fruits and vegetables that pose serious health hazards'.

He said that strict monitoring from government agencies is required to check manufacture, import and use of banned pesticides, adding that India's pesticide residue limits have not been reviewed for 30 years.

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