Determination and dietary risk assessment of 52 pesticide residues in vegetable and fruit samples by GC-MS/MS and UHPLC-QTOF/MS from Gujarat, India

The main purpose of this study was to determine pesticide contamination levels in commonly consumed vegetable and fruit samples collected from three different regions of Gujarat state, India. Samples (n = 312) were collected and extracted using modified QuEChERS method and quantified for presence of residues of 52 pesticides (organochlorine, organophosphate, carbamate and synthetic pyrethroids) by GC-MS/MS and UHPLC-QTOF/MS. Of the 52 pesticides, residues of 12 pesticides were detected and bifenthrin, fenvalerate and cypermethrin were frequently detected in maximum number of samples. The results observed that, 98.8 % tomato, 97.5 % banana, 90 % eggplant, 88.8 % pomegranate, 83.8 % orange, 75 % okra and 66.3 % of green chilli samples were below the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). Acute and chronic dietary risk assessment was calculated due to consumption of vegetable and fruit samples for the Indian adolescent and adult population and results showed that the majority of samples had HQ (Hazard Quotient) and HI (Hazard Index) values were less than 1. Overall results revealed that, the studied commodities were safe for human consumption. However, monitoring studies may be carried out to protect the consumers.

Automated summary

The main purpose of this study was to determine the pesticide contamination levels in commonly consumed vegetable and fruit samples from different regions of Gujarat state, India. The results showed that the majority of samples had pesticide residues below the maximum residue limit and posed low dietary risk to the Indian population.