It apears that the news that the imported fertiliser being used in the cultivation of local crops contains human waste is not enough to stop some Jamaicans from purchasing local produce.

Although there was much debate and controversy after the revelation, THE WEEKEND STAR spoke to some shoppers and householders and most were unfazed.

Sheka, a young mother said: "I don't care. Vegetables are healthy, they must be eaten. I always like a little vegetable and I won't stop buying it until it's proven that we're eating the remnants of human faeces. Plus, how we know seh we nah eat worse dan dat? So it nuh bother mi."

Kerique, 25, a young professional, said she had always been extra cautious when handling produce.

"I always wash my vegetables first. I didn't leave those things up to chance because I know how chemicals and food go. So I soak those things in salt water and wash them until dem clean, clean."

One householder, however, told THE WEEKEND STAR that she was fearful of purchasing local produce. She said, "Mi nuh able fi go eat no callaloo or pak choi whe plant inna. In fact, mi nuh go market since then. Anyting whe grow so low a grung, an dem leafy sitt'n deh, mi fraid a dem. Right now, mi prefer go supermarket go buy di farrin one dem."

Following complaints from local farmers about the high prices of fertiliser, the Government imported a quantity of the produce, which they sold at a reduced cost. But recently, the opposition revealed that the fertiliser imported by the Government contained human waste.

Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton has dismissed the allegations as political banter and sought to assure the nation that the fertiliser was tested and found to be fit for use.

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