Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Some locally Fruits produced in Minia Governorate, Minia, Egypt

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Plant protection Dept. Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University

2 Central Laboratory of residue analysis of pesticides and Heavy metals in Food (QCAP Lab.) Dokky, Egypt

3 Plant protection dept. Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University

4 Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture. Minia University, Egypt

Abstract

The objective of this research was to monitor the presence of pesticide residues in grapes, oranges, and apples in Minia governorate Markets. 84 pesticides were investigated. The QuEChERS method was used for the extraction and purification. Residues were analyzed using GCMS/MS and LCMS/MS. The expected daily intake (EOI) and a hazard index were determined. The standard deviations ranged from 1% to 7.5%, while the LOD varied from 0.0004 to 0.0231 ng/gm. The LOQ (0.0012 to 0.0693 ng/gm-1.) Furthermore, an R2 value greater than 0.99 was obtained.

The results revealed that all samples were contaminated with residues of 35 different pesticides, out of which 31.48% exceeded the maximum residual limits (MRLs), while 64.8% contained concentrations below the MRLs. The most frequently detected pesticides were cypermethrin (found in 27 out of 54 samples), followed by carbendazim (20/54), profenofos (10/54), orthophenylphenol (OPP) (9/54), and Pascalid (9/54). Chloropyrifos, thiabendazole, and myclobutanil were detected in 6 out of 54 samples. On the other hand, lambda-cyhalothrin, thiophanate methylchlorobrofam, methoxybenzene, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, methoxyphenoside, hexethizox, malathion, and maloxone were the least frequently observed pesticides in the collected fruit samples.

During the winter of 2021 and summer of 2022, several pesticides exceeded the MRLs, including carbendazim, capatane, myclobutylene, thiophanate methyl, imidaclopride, dimethoate, omethoate, pyraclostrobin, imazalil, thiabendazole, propagrate, praclostrobin, and dimetomorph, while the rest of the pesticides remained within the MRLs. A risk ratio calculation indicated the presence of residues from propagret, carbendazim, thiaclopride, OPP, thiophanate methyl, and dimethemorph, which pose a severe public health risk.

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