Monitoring and dietary risk assessment of pesticide residues in brinjal, capsicum, tomato, and cucurbits grown in Northern and Western regions of India

Abstract

The present study monitored pesticide residues in 2319 samples of fruiting vegetables namely, tomato (416), capsicum (363), brinjal (448), and cucurbits (1092) grown in the Northern and Western regions of India. The samples were extracted using QuEChERS method and analyzed for the residues of 155 multi–class pesticides by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and/or liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The residues of 56 pesticides were detected in vegetables with the highest percentage of positive samples in capsicum (69.7%) followed by brinjal (36.6%), cucurbits (34%), and tomato (30.3%). Residues of acetamiprid, profenofos, imidacloprid, metalaxyl, chlorpyrifos, and tebuconazole were most frequently detected. Dietary risk due to pesticide residues was evaluated using food consumption data, acceptable daily intake (ADI), and safety indices such as hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) considering lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) scenarios in adults and children. The HQs and HIs did not exceed unit value (HQ, HI < 1) for both adults and children, indicating that the level of pesticide residues in these fruiting vegetables does not pose any appreciable risk to the consumers.