An evaluation of pesticide residue levels in selected produce and a medical plant in Suriname

OBJECTIVE: This specific study objective was to characterize pesticide contamination in produce and medicinal plants in Suriname. DESIGN AND METHODS: Samples were collected during different seasons from several markets in Suriname. The preliminary assessment collected 8 products from the largest market in Paramaribo during the rainy season. Results from the preliminary assessment informed the selection of products for the expanded assessment, which was focused on 7 products sampled from the same market, as well as the largest market in district Wanica during the dry season. Additionally, the vegetable Tannia was sampled at 3 other markets within Paramaribo. All samples were analyzed for pesticide residue with Gas Chromatography Electron Capture Detector. RESULTS: The preliminary assessment conveyed that 12.5% of the samples tested had pesticide residues. The expanded characterization showed that 35.3% of the samples tested positive for pesticide residues. Half of all the samples with pesticide residues exceeded either 1 or more Maximum Residual Levels (MRL) in the expanded assessment. Among the identified residues were Endosulfan and Lindane, which are banned for use in Suriname and are globally being phased out under the Stockholm Convention. CONCLUSIONS: A percentage of selected produce items cultivated in Suriname were contaminated with pesticides. To ascertain the association with adverse health effects, this research will be followed up by a human health assessment that includes a dietary assessment and biomarker testing.

Reliability and validity of a short form household food security scale in a Caribbean community

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the reliability and validity of the short form household food security scale in a different setting from the one in which it was developed. METHODS: The scale was interview administered to 531 subjects from 286 households in north central Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. We evaluated the six items by fitting item response theory models to estimate item thresholds, estimating agreement among respondents in the same households and estimating the slope index of income-related inequality (SII) after adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity. RESULTS: Item-score correlations ranged from 0.52 to 0.79 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.87. Item responses gave within-household correlation coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.78. Estimated item thresholds (standard errors) from the Rasch model ranged from -2.027 (0.063) for the 'balanced meal' item to 2.251 (0.116) for the 'hungry' item. The 'balanced meal' item had the lowest threshold in each ethnic group even though there was evidence of differential functioning for this item by ethnicity. Relative thresholds of other items were generally consistent with US data. Estimation of the SII, comparing those at the bottom with those at the top of the income scale, gave relative odds for an affirmative response of 3.77 (95% confidence interval 1.40 to 10.2) for the lowest severity item, and 20.8 (2.67 to 162.5) for highest severity item. Food insecurity was associated with reduced consumption of green vegetables after additionally adjusting for income and education (0.52, 0.28 to 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: The household food security scale gives reliable and valid responses in this setting. Differing relative item thresholds compared with US data do not require alteration to the cut-points for classification of 'food insecurity without hunger' or 'food insecurity with hunger'. The data provide further evidence that re-evaluation of the 'balanced meal' item is required.

Commentary: Assessing food insecurity in Trinidad and Tobago

Gulliford and colleagues report in this issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology on a study in Trinidad and Tobago that investigated whether household food insecurity was associated with obesity in this middle-income country. They found that food insecurity was associated with underweight but not with obesity. Food insecurity was also associated with decreased consumption of fruits and vegetables, a result previously reported in several studies, and with physical limitations, a result previously reported for elders in the US.