Potential health risk of pesticide residues in greenhouse vegetables under modern urban agriculture: A case study in Beijing, China

This study analyzed the residues of 24 pesticides in greenhouse vegetables grown in Beijing under modern urban agriculture and estimated the potential health risk of consuming these vegetables. The analysis was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). 37.5 % of the vegetables contained at least one pesticide and 1% of the samples contained residues that exceeded the maximum residue limits set by the Chinese government. These values are lower than those in vegetables under traditional agriculture. The banned pesticides chlorpyrifos and phorate in Chinese cabbage and Chinese chive exceeded maximum residue limits, but the target hazard quotient and hazard index indicated that intake of these vegetables may not cause adverse health effects. Modern urban agriculture practices should focus on strict pesticide management to reduce the uptake of these chemicals by the plants. This study can provide basic data for the management of modern urban agriculture in China.

Automated summary

This study found that 37.5% of greenhouse vegetables grown in Beijing under modern urban agriculture contained at least one pesticide residue, with only 1% of samples exceeding the maximum residue limits set by the Chinese government. While some vegetables had residues of banned pesticides, the potential health risks were deemed not to cause adverse effects on human health.