Occurrence and health risk assessment of fourteen pesticides and their metabolites in marketing tomatoes in China

Abstract

Pesticide control of pests and diseases is still the primary measure to guarantee the quality and yields of crops and reduce food security issues globally. However, the residue of pesticides and their metabolites in raw agricultural products may cause human health hazards. Herein, a modified QuEChERS coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was constructed to monitor the residue of 14 pesticides and their seven metabolites in 120 market tomato samples collected from 12 provinces in China, and the health risks of these pesticides to Chinese populations were evaluated. The mean recoveries of 21 compounds were 72.2%-107%, and the corresponding precisions were 0.498%-13.6%. The limit of quantification for all analytes was 0.01 mg/kg, and the limit of detection ranged from 0.0752 to 2.88 μg/kg. In total, 12 pesticides and four metabolites were monitored, with residual concentrations of up to 0.255 mg/kg. Dinotefuran and carbendazim were the most frequently detectable pesticides, with a positive rate of 66.7%-72.5%. DN and B-ke were the most regularly determinable metabolites, with a more than 99.2% detection frequency. The risk assessment indicated that the 12 detected pesticides could not cause unacceptable chronic, acute, and cumulative health risks to Chinese consumers.