Pesticide residues in Lebanese apples and health risk assessment

Abstract

In Lebanon, apples are among the most consumed commodities; however, pesticide residues in apples have not been evaluated so far. Therefore, this study presents the occurrence of pesticide residues in apples produced in Lebanon during 2012-2016. A total of 212 samples were analysed for the presence of pesticides using the QuEChERS multi-residue extraction method, followed by GC-MS. Pesticide residues were not observed in 23% of the samples. Whereas pesticide residues were found in 77% of the samples, among them 61% exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRL) and 16% contained residues below the MRL. The most frequently detected pesticide residues were chlorpyrifos (n = 142), methidathion (n = 34), cypermethrin (n = 21), lambda-cyhalothrin (n = 16), myclobutanil (n = 13) and diazinon (n = 9). A preliminary long-term exposure assessment for the detected pesticides in apples showed that Hazard Quotient (HQ) was in the range of 0.1-8% of the ADI's, indicating no risk to human health.

Keywords: GC-MS; Lebanon; Pesticide residues; apple; risk assessment.