mukiha wrote:So how many people have died or fallen ill as result of eating veggies grown with sewage? Answer = zero, or very close to zero!!
these are the sort of stories that media houses report when they have nothing better to report.
Completely baseless!!
I will continue eating my sukuma-wiki....
People may not have died but consuming vegetables grown with sewerage especially from Nairobi river is very unhealthy.
There are 2 major risks:
1) microbes, parasites: you could get serious diseases ranging from E. coli, dysentery, amoebiosis, typhoid to cholera etc if the food is not well washed or cooked. Its risky especially for those who like salads. There is also the risk of worms including round worms and tape worms - your kitabi may not be due to mututho/beer but worms from the kachumbari accompanying the nyam chom.
2) Heavy metal contamination: plants irrigated with sewerage take up these heavy metals which may have come from industries e.g. paint factories, battery manufacturers, skin and hide processors, kirinyaga road mechanics etc. The effect could be disrupted enzyme action in the body, someone feeling tired all the time, reduced immunity, cancer, kidney problems, accumulation in the liver, reduced brain development and low IQ especially for kids etc.
That is why those who import fruits vegetables from Kenya e.g. UK etc ensure there is traceability of the produce, what they call farm-to-fork food safety audit. The importers actually visit the farms they source their produce from and approve them as accredited sources and to ensure they follow good agricultural practice, including making sure they use approved agrochemicals.
So one does not have to immediately drop dead for it to be evident that sewerage grown food is dangerous. The health risks are there though it may take time for the symptoms to appear.