Industrial contamination risks yields, food safety as researchers explore bioremediation solutions
SHENYANG:
Tomatoes, a vital crop for Pakistan’s economy, are facing a growing threat from heavy metal pollution, raising concerns over food safety, farm incomes and export sustainability. With annual production exceeding 569,000 tonnes, tomatoes provide livelihoods to millions of smallholders and generate more than $100 million in export revenue. However, contamination of soil and water is increasingly putting the industry at risk.
Rapid industrialisation, particularly the expansion of tannery industries in cities such as Sialkot, Kasur and Lahore, has contaminated irrigation canals and agricultural soils with hazardous metals, including chromium, cadmium and lead. These metals are absorbed by tomato plants and accumulate in edible parts of the fruit, posing serious health risks to consumers, including carcinogenic effects. “The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that tomatoes have a relatively high metal translocation factor, making them particularly susceptible to accumulating these toxic metals,” said Tahir Naqqash, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. He warned that farmers could face yield losses of up to 50%, along with a sharp decline in fruit quality.
According to Naqqash, contamination levels in some areas exceed permissible limits set by international bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the European Union, threatening the safety and competitiveness of Pakistan’s tomato exports. The risks extend beyond trade, he added, as contaminated produce also raises public health concerns domestically.
To address the challenge, researchers are exploring biological alternatives to conventional soil treatment methods. Naqqash said a collaborative system is being developed with Shenyang Normal University in China, in which microbes and plants work together to detoxify contaminated soils, with a particular focus on cadmium, a major pollutant in industrial zones. The aim is to prevent cadmium from entering tomato plants and accumulating in their fruit. He said participation in a training camp on ecological and green development at Shenyang Normal University last year helped broaden the scope of the research. “It made me consider not only how to remove heavy metals from soil but also how to manage the residues after the bioremediation process,” he said, adding that extracted metals could potentially be reused for processing purposes.
