How to Manage Food Safety and Horticultural Cropping Systems in The Situation of Environmental Pollution? Case of Persistent Pesticide in Soils in the French West Indies

International audienceBanana producers have been using persistent organochlorine pesticides for 1970 to 1993 in French West Indies. Chlordecone molecule is now polluting soils, water and food chains. Then, farmers have to manage the molecule transfer to food crops when fields are polluted. In our work, we first assessed the transfer sensitivity for food crops, we mainly focused on horticultural crops. We established the transfer relationship between soil pollution level and crop contamination. It differed according to the soil type, the crop and the harvested organ. The more sensitive crops are root vegetables and the very less sensitive are banana, pineapple and solanaceae. Then, we built a decision tool that integrated these results and the UE sanitary regulation (Maximum Residue Limit, MRL). We used the maximum transfer curve, an envelop curve, to assess the risk of contamination for each crop and we translated the MRL value into a chlordecone maximum soil level. Our tool would help the farmers to anticipate the contamination risk for food products at the planting stage using a soil analysis. In the case of relevant farming system evolution or conversion, it would help them to choose adapted crops according to the field pollution context and the farmers’ objectives. Our tool would help too the decision makers to propose pollution management measures and new cropping system practices and orientations