Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Agriculture in Jordan made a change in safety measures on Tuesday and announced a ban on the use of chlorfenapyr, a chemical pesticide, on certain fruits and vegetables and a modification of the chemical's pre-harvest interval for other crops.

Chlorfenapyr is now banned from being used on eggplant, bell pepper, chili pepper, cucumber, lettuce, apple, citrus fruits, grape, apricot, cherry, plum and peach, according to the ministry's spokesperson Nimer Haddadin.

The ministry indicated that the pesticide can only be applied on tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, potato and ornamental plants, Haddadin noted, with an extended waiting period between applying the pesticide and harvesting the crop.

The ministry of climate change and environment in the UAE last week announced its decision to ban the import of seven of Jordan’s main vegetable exports as of mid-May. The ban was put in place due to increasing levels of chemical pesticide residues found in Jordan’s agricultural products.