Dietary risk assessment of children and adults consuming fruit and vegetables with multiple pesticide residues

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Fruit and vegetables are a basic component of the human diet. European pesticide monitoring data indicated recently that in one sample multiple residues were detected which might be a public concern. Thus, the challenge of the present study was to assess the potential dietary exposure of the most critical EU children and adults subpopulations consuming fruit and vegetables. Overall, a total of 1,182 samples 333 fruit and 849 vegetable samples from Polish production were monitored for the presence of 550 active substances during 2021–2023. Multiple pesticide occurrence was as follows: 2021 – 8%; 2022 – 12%; 2023 – 10%. In individual sample up to 11 pesticides were simultaneously detected in the range of 0.0052 mg kg-1 (fenpyroximate) – 7.10 mg kg-1 (difenoconazole). The top detected active substance was acetamiprid (neonicotinoid insecticide) and boscalid (carboxamide fungicide). The risk assessment occurring during a single day/meal to 28 detected pesticides was calculated. Acute exposure was low for fruit samples, despite a high frequency of many pesticides, e.g. cherries containing 11 pesticides (i.e. cyantraniliprole 35.5% ARfD for children, lambda-cyhalothrin 73.4% ARfD for adults). In the vegetable group, one dill sample containing not-approved chlorpyrifos could pose a risk to children (120.0% ARfD). Unacceptable risk to children's health (% ARfD>100) was assessed for a lettuce sample with 9 pesticides, including endocrine disruptors pyrethroids i.e. cypermethrin and deltamethrin. The model based on the worst-case scenario provided a margin for consumer safety. The approach showed that fruit and vegetables with multiple residues could not be considered a serious public health problem.