By Talal Al-Qashqari
BELIEVE it or not Makkah municipal inspectors confiscated 20 tons of vegetables that had been irrigated with untreated sewage water! The vegetables were being sold by expatriate workers, according to a recent report in Al-Madinah daily. All the vegetables were confiscated at Al-Nakasa Market in Makkah where expatriate workers sell vegetables and other food products after 9 pm. The municipal inspectors, according to the story, raided the market in the evening and became suspicious because of the low price of vegetables.
This is not the first time municipal inspectors have confiscated such large amounts of tainted vegetables or rotten food. The concerned authorities should take drastic action and impose deterring penalties and punishment on expatriate farmers and Saudis who lease their farms to such farmers. Some Saudis do not have any conscience at all about allowing expatriate farmers to engage in illegal activities that pose great risks to public health. Unfortunately, the only thing such Saudis care about is whether or not they receive the rent on time every month. Irrigating vegetables with untreated wastewater is considered a crime by most countries due to the major health risks involved.
Countless public health reports conducted by global organizations have shown a strong causal relationship between kidney failure and liver cancer and vegetables irrigated with untreated sewage water. This water is full of harmful material, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc. The real problem, as pathologists say, lies in the fact that some bacteria and parasites stay on the outside surface of vegetables, such as lettuce, watercress, etc. and cause short- and long-term health problems.
