Ludhiana, June 4 -- : A joint team of health, horticulture and food supply officials on Wednesday collected six samples of fruits and vegetables from markets and ripening centres to test them for pesticide residues, heavy metals and other contaminants.

The team inspected fruit stocks at the New Sabzi Mandi and visited banana ripening centres operating in the Anaj Mandi area as officials said mangoes and other seasonal fruits were witnessing high consumer demand. The team also collected samples of capsicum, ladyfinger (okra) and brinjal from the Buddha Nullah area.

Officials said the special focus was on fruits which undergo artificial ripening processes before reaching the market. These samples will be tested for heavy metal contaminati...