The public health department did not reply to questions on food safety after a farmer expressed concerns on high levels of cancer-causing nitrates in water used in agriculture.

Times of Malta reported on Paul Abela’s three-year struggle to stop bad practices in surrounding fields caused by farmers paying bowsers about €13 to illegally dump slurry (sewage) over their crops.

Sewage is gathered from cesspit cleaning services at private residences, animal farms and mobile toilets. It spurs plant growth and provides good yields even if safety is questionable as contaminants travel through the food chain. When spread on fields it seeps into the ground, contaminating the water supply.

Mr Abela, a Burmarrad farmer, tested his water in 2011 and the results, seen by Times of Malta, showed nitrates beyond permissible levels. The practice has continued despite his reports to the Malta Resources Authority, the police, the local council and Mepa.

“I am seriously worried because their products end up on the market,” Mr Abela said of other farmers’ produce.

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

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