Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Sameh A. A. Abuo El-kasem, Mohamed H. F. Naiel, Mohamed H. Mubarak, Fatma I. A. Megahed, Gehad S. S. El-Deeb

Abstract


This study aimed to assess the levels of contamination by pesticide residues in several types of vegetables collected from different regions in Egypt. A total of 100 samples of vegetables (pepper, tomato, cucumber, and strawberry) were collected from markets in five cities (Al-Obour, Al-Salheia El-Gadida, Giza, Zagazig, and Fayed) and analyzed for the presence of 42 different pesticide residues. The Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method was used to extract the target pesticides, which were then quantified using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) techniques. The results showed that 72% of the vegetable samples contained detectable levels of pesticide residues, with 21% exceeding the European Union Maximum Residue Levels (EU-MRLs) and 51% containing residues below the MRLs. The detected residues were primarily insecticides (56.4%) and fungicides (43.6%), with tomato and strawberry samples showing the highest frequency of both types of pesticides. Tomato also had the highest absolute intake from consumption (2.89 g/kg BW/day), followed by strawberries, peppers, and cucumbers (0.47, 0.159, and 0.096 g/kg BW/day, respectively). A hazard index (HI) was used to assess the dietary risk posed by the pesticide residues, with tomato having the highest contribution value. These findings highlight the need for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs to reduce the excessive use of pesticides, particularly in relation to raw food commodities. Action is required to minimize the unacceptable risks identified in this study

Keywords


Food safety, Pesticide residues, Risk assessment, Estimated daily intake, Monitoring

Full Text:

View Full Text

References


Wallace TC, Bailey RL, Blumberg JB, Burton-Freeman B, Chen CO, Crowe-White KM, et al. Fruits, vegetables, and health: A comprehensive narrative, umbrella review of the science and recommendations for enhanced public policy to improve intake. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. 2020;60(13):2174-211.

Gyawali K. Pesticide Uses and its Effects on Public Health and Environment. Journal of Health Promotion;6:2836.

Tankiewicz M. Determination of Selected Priority Pesticides in High Water Fruits and Vegetables by Modified QuEChERS and GC-ECD with GC-MS/MS Confirmation. Molecules. PMID: 30678356; PMCID: PMC6384567.

Authority EFS. 2008 Annual Report on Pesticide Residues according to Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(7):1646.

Ireland Department of Agriculture Food Rural Development (IDAFRD). Pesticide control service: Pesticide residues in food; 2001. Available from: http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/Docs/residu00.pdf.

Bauer MW. The European Commission. In: Handbook of Public Administration and Policy in the European Union. Routledge; 2005. p. 175-202.

Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force. Action plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. US Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico; 2001.

Hossain S, Hossain A, Rahman A, Islam M, Rahman A, Adyel T. Health risk assessment of pesticide residues via dietary intake of market vegetables from Dhaka. Bangladesh Foods;2:6475.

D’Mello J. Food safety: contaminants and toxins. Wallingford: CABI Publishing; 2003.

Fries G. A review of the significance of animal food products as potential pathways of human exposures to dioxins. J Animal Sci;73:1639 1650.

Tricker R, Preussmann R. Chemical food contaminants in the initiation of cancer. In: Proc. Nutr. Soc. vol. 49;. p. 133-144.

Cabrera C, Lloris F, Gimenez R, Olalla M, Lopez MC. Mineral content in legumes and nuts: contribution to the Spanish dietary intake. Science of the Total Environment. 2003;308(1-3):1-14.

Rashmi I, Roy T, Kartika K, Pal R, Coumar V, Kala S, et al. Organic and inorganic fertilizer contaminants in agriculture: Impact on soil and water resources. In: Contaminants in agriculture. Springer; 2020. p. 3-41.

FAO/WHO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization). Pesticide residues in food 1999. Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues, FAO, Rome; 1999.

Patandin S, CI L, PG M. Effects of environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins on cognitive abilities in Dutch children at 42 months of age. J Pediatric;134:3341.

Davis J, Brownson R, Garcia R, Bentz B, Turner A. Family pesticide use and childhood brain cancer. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 1993;24:87-92.

Schäfer RB, Kefford BJ, Metzeling L, Liess M, Burgert S, Marchant R, et al. A trait database of stream invertebrates for the ecological risk assessment of single and combined effects of salinity and pesticides in South-East Australia. Science of the Total Environment. 2011;409(11):2055-63.

World Health Organization (WHO). WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants. vol. 2. World Health Organization; 1999.

Landrigan P. Toxicity of lead at low dose. British journal of industrial medicine. 1989;46(9):593.

Goldhaber S. trace element risk assessment: essentiality vs.toxicity. Regulatory Toxicology Pharmacology;38:232242.

Nakata H, Kawazoe M, Arizono K, Abe S, Kitano T, Shimada H, et al. Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in foodstuffs and human tissues from China: status of contamination, historical trend, and human dietary exposure. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology. 2002;43(4):0473-80.

Sverdrup L, Nielsen T, Krogh P. Soil Ecotoxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Relation to Soil Sorption, Lipophilicity and Water Solubility. Environmental Science and Technology;36:24292435.

Adeyemi D, Ukpo G, Anyakora C, Unyimadu JP. Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Food Samples from Lagos Markets, Nigeria. American Journal of Environmental Sciences. 2008;4(6):649-53.

World Health Organization and Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals. IPCS risk assessment terminology. vol. 1. World Health Organization; 2004.

Rohlman D, Kile ML, Irvin VL. Developing a Short Assessment of Environmental Health Literacy (SA-EHL). International journal of environmental research and public health. 2022;19(4):2062.

Anastassiades M, Lehotay SJ, Štajnbaher D, Schenck FJ. Fast and easy multiresidue method employing acetonitrile extraction/partitioning and dispersive solid-phase extraction for the determination of pesticide residues in produce. Journal of AOAC international. 2003;86(2):412-31.

World Health Organization. GEMS/Food regional diets: regional per capita consumption of raw and semi-processed agricultural commodities. World Health Organization; 2006. Available from: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/regional_diets/en/.

World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. vol. 916. World Health Organization; 2003.

Gad Alla SA, Thabet WM, Salama EY. Monitoring and risk assessment of pesticide residues in some Egyptian vegetables. Middle East Journal of Applied Sciences. 2013;3(4):216-30.

EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Scientific Opinion on application EFSA-GMO-NL-2007-45 for the placing on the market of herbicide-tolerant, high-oleic acid, genetically modified soybean 305423 for food and feed uses, import and processing under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 from Pioneer. EFSA Journal. 2013;11(12):3499. Available from: https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2903/j.efsa.2013.3499.

EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR). Scientific Opinion on the science behind the development of a risk assessment of Plant Protection Products on bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees). EFSA Journal. 2012;10(5):2668.

El-Sawi S, Khorshed M, Nabil Y, Mahmoud A. Monitoring and risk exposure studies of some pesticide residues detected in Egyptian fruit and vegetables. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, Mansoura University. 2012;3(3):253-71.

Akoto O, Azuure AA, Adotey K. Pesticide residues in water, sediment and fish from Tono Reservoir and their health risk implications. SpringerPlus. 2016;5(1):1-11.

Shinde AV, Naik N. A Study to assess the Knowledge regarding Effects of Pesticides and Protective Measures adopted by the Housewives in Selected Urban Area. International Journal of Nursing Education and Research. 2018;6(4):345-7.

Keikotlhaile B, Spanoghe P. Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables, Pesticides Formulations, Effects, Fate. Ghent University Belgium;. Available from: www.intechopen.com/source/pdfs/13013.

Schafer KS, Reeves M, Spitzer S, Kegley SE, Lu CA, Toepel KA, et al. Criticisms and Frequent Misconceptions about Organic Agriculture: The Counter-Arguments; 2009. Available from:http://infohub.ifoam.bio/sites/default/files/page/files/misconceptions_compiled.pdf.

Abou-Arab A. Behavior of pesticides in tomatoes during commercial and home preparation. Food chemistry. 1999;65(4):509-14.

Dogheim S, Gad Alla S, Salama E, El-Marsafy A, Nabil Y. Monitoring of pesticide residues in Egyptian fruits and vegetables during 1997. Food Additives and Contaminants. 2002;19(11):1015-27.

Dogheim S, Gad Alla S, EL-MARSAFY A. Monitoring pesticide residues in Egyptian fruit and vegetables in 1995. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1999;82(4):948-55.

Dogheim S, Gad Alla S, El-Marsafy A. Monitoring of pesticide residues in Egyptian fruits and vegetables during 1996. Journal of AOAC International. 2001;84(2).

Mansour SA. Environmental impact of pesticides in Egypt. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Vol 196. 2008:1-51.

Farag R, Abdel Latif M, Abd El-Gawad A, Dogheim S. Monitoring of pesticide residues in some Egyptian herbs, fruits and vegetables. International Food Research Journal. 2011;18:659-65.

Ibrahim N, Eweis E, El-Sawi S, Nassar K. Monitoring and risk assessment of pesticide residues in some vegetables in Egypt. J Appl Sci Technol;8(2):669679.

Badr AN, Ahmed M, Amer M, Thang VN, Fouzy A, et al. Pesticides evaluation in Egyptian fruits and vegetables: a safety assessment study. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2019;12(2):81-91.

Loutfy N, Fuerhacker M, Lesueur C, Gartner M, Ahmed M, Mentler A. Pesticide and non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) residues in foodstuffs from Ismailia city. Egypt Food Addit Contam:19.

Ahmed MT, Greish S, Ismail SM, Mosleh Y, Loutfy NM, El Doussouki A. Dietary intake of pesticides based on vegetable consumption in Ismailia, Egypt: A case study. Human and ecological risk assessment: An international journal. 2014;20(3):779-88.

Tchounwou PB, Ashour BA, Moreland-Young C, Ragheb DA, Romeh AA, Goma EA, et al. Health risk assessment of pesticide usage in Menia El-Kamh Province of Sharkia Governorate in Egypt. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2002;3(10):1082-94.

El Nemr A, Abd-Allah A. Organochlorine contamination in some marketable fish in Egypt. Chemosphere. 2004;54:1401-6.

Dogheim S, El-Ashraf M, Gad Alla S, Khorshid M, Fahmy S. Pesticides and heavy metals levels in Egyptian leafy vegetables and some aromatic medicinal plants. Food Additives and Contaminants. 2004;4:323-30.

Abdel-Halim K, Salama A, El-Khateeb E, Bakry N. Organophosphorus pollutants (OPP) in aquatic environment at Damietta Governorate, Egypt: implications for monitoring and biomarker responses. Chemosphere. 2006;63(9):1491-8.

Łozowicka B, Kaczy ́nski P, Rutkowska E, Jankowska M, Hrynko I. Evaluation of pesticide residues in fruit from Poland and health risk assessment. Agricultural Sciences. 2013;4:106-11.

Alla SAG, Loutfy NM, Shendy AH, Ahmed MT. Hazard index, a tool for a long term risk assessment of pesticide residues in some commodities, a pilot study. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. 2015;73(3):985-91.

Peiris-John RJ, Wickremasinghe R. Impact of low-level exposure to organophosphates on human reproduction and survival. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2008;102(3):239-45.

Feng Y, Huang Y, Zhan H, Bhatt P, Chen S. An Overview of Strobilurin Fungicide Degradation: Current Status and Future Perspective. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2020;11(389):1-11.

Bartlett DW, Clough JM, Godwin JR, Hall AA, Hamer M, Parr-Dobrzanski B. The strobilurin fungicides. Pest Management Science: formerly Pesticide Science. 2002;58(7):649-62.

Battaglin WA, Sandstrom MW, Kuivila KM, Kolpin DW, Meyer MT. Occurrence of azoxystrobin, propiconazole, and selected other fungicides in US streams, 2005–2006. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. 2011;218(1):307-22.

EPA US, Agency USEP. Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Cypermethrin;. Available at URL:. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/

cypermethrin_red.pdf.

Agency USEP. Permethrin Facts (Reregistration Eligibility Decision Fact Sheet; 2006. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/permethrin_fs.htm.5/26/09.

Hossain M, Fakhruddin A, Chowdhury AZM, Rahman M, Alam KM. Health risk assessment of selected pesticide residues in locally produced vegetables of Bangladesh. International Food Research Journal. 2015;22(1):110.

Seo YH, Cho TH, Hong CK, Kim MS, Cho SJ, Park WH, et al. Monitoring and risk assessment of pesticide residues in commercially dried vegetables. Preventive Nutrition and Food Science. 2013;18(2):145.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.36462/H.BioSci.202301

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Abuo El-kasem et al

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Other "Highlights in" Journals

Highlights in Bioinformatics, Highlights in Chemistry, Highlights in Science, Highlights in Microbiology, Highlights in Plant Science

Free counters!


........................................................................................................................................

International Library of Science "HighlightsIn" is an Open Access Scientific Publishers, aiming to science and knowledge support