Abstract
Primarily, chemical pesticides are applied with the objective of enhancing crop productivity by combating pests and vector-borne diseases in human beings. Due to the relatively low exposure of consumers to pesticide residues in foods, it is the opinion of the majority of health professionals involved in food safety that the risks of pesticide residues are far lower than risks from issues such as microbiological contamination, nutritional imbalance, environmental contaminants, and naturally occurring toxins. Still, the risks from pesticides in the diet are not zero. Examples of consumer poisoning from misapplication of pesticides have been documented, while pesticides may still pose theoretical risks from long-term exposure to consumers due to the scientific impossibility of proving otherwise.