Residues of some organophosphorus pesticides on and in fruits and vegetables available in Poland, an assessment based on the European union regulations and health assessment for human populations

Comprehensive toxicological multi-year study on pesticides in apples: Control, trends and dietary risk assessment

Apples are one of the most widely consumed raw fruit worldwide. Due to multiple sprayings during the growing season, they can contain pesticide residues affecting quality of food and human health. The novelty of the present study was a comprehensive multi-year control of a broad spectrum of pesticides in apples (2006-2022) and dietary risk assessment with changing toxicological values: ADI/ARfD/MRL. Long/short-term exposure for the EU critical sub-populations were calculated by EFSA model. A 17-year monitoring indicated 64.2 % of 1223 samples contained residues and MRL exceedances 3.4 %. A total of 57 active substances were identified (0.01-0.34 mg/kg). The most frequently detected were fungicides (captan, dithiocarbamates) and insecticides (acetamiprid, metoxyfenozide). Chronic exposure showed residues pose no risk to human health. Acute risk up to 840.7 % ARfD children and up to 219 % of ARfD for adults for indoxacarb and lambda-cyhalothrin was observed. Comprehensive toxicological data identified potential dietary risk to public health.

Pesticides and transformation products footprint in Greek market basket vegetables: Comprehensive screening by HRMS and health risk assessment

Healthy dietary habits encourage vegetable consumption. Although pesticide use in crops may negatively affect human health through food intake, it can also contaminate aquatic and terrestrial environments. Thus, monitoring pesticides in high-consumption matrices is crucial. This study conducted a complete workflow of analysis, including a step of target analysis of 30 widely used pesticides and a subsequent step of suspect screening. A validated QuEChERS method was employed to analyze 61 samples of fruiting vegetables and cucurbits, packaged leafy greens, and root and tuber vegetables, commercially distributed across Greece. The method proved to be highly efficient for all validation characteristics. After target analysis, the change in the residue levels detected during sample processing was evaluated as a case study using available literature data. A health risk assessment based on diet indicated acute and chronic hazard quotients (aHQ and cHQ) and chronic hazard index (cHI) values below 1. Concerning suspect screening, 53 additional identifications of pesticides and transformation products (TPs) were revealed, totaling 86 detections. Overall, 18 parent pesticide compounds and 5 TPs were identified. Ultimately, this approach is expected to provide added value in pesticide and TPs analysis of food matrices without prior data, minimizing experimental time and costs.

Determinants of urinary dialkyl phosphate metabolites in midlife women: the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Multi-Pollutant Study (SWAN-MPS)

BACKGROUND

Biomonitoring data and determinants of urinary dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites, markers of organophosphate pesticides, in racially diverse, non-occupationally exposed populations are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated urinary concentrations and potential determinants of DAP metabolites of organophosphate pesticides in a multi-site, multi-racial/ethnic cohort of women aged 45-56 years, the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Multi-Pollutant Study (SWAN-MPS).

METHODS

We analyzed 963 urine samples collected in 1999-2000, the baseline of SWAN-MPS for longitudinal studies, and quantified DAP metabolites, including dimethyl alkylphosphates (DMAPs): dimethylphosphate (DMP), dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP), dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP); and diethyl alkylphosphates (DEAPs): diethylphosphate (DEP), diethylthiophosphate (DETP), diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP), using gas chromatography and triple quadrupole mass spectroscopy. Adjusted least squared geometric means (LSGMs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to compare DAP concentrations by socio-demographic, behavioral and dietary factors.

RESULTS

The geometric means (geometric standard deviations) of total DAPs, DMAPs, and DEAPs were 141 (2.63) nmol/L, 102 (2.99) nmol/L, and 26.8 (2.46) nmol/L, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was inversely associated with DMAPs and DEAPs: LSGM (95% CI) = 68.8 (55.7-84.9) and 21.0 (17.7-25.0) nmol/L for women with obesity vs. 102 (84.7-123) and 30.1 (25.7-35.1) nmol/L for women with normal/underweight, respectively. Fruit consumption was positively (74.9 (62.1-90.2) for less than 5-6 servings/week vs. 105 (84.8-130) nmol/L for 1 serving/day and more) whereas meat consumption was inversely associated with DMAPs (110 (95.0-128) for seldom vs. 82.3 (59.5-114) nmol/L for often consumption). Fresh apple consumption appears to be attributed to the DMAP differences. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with DEAPs (27.5 (23.1-32.7) for 2 drinks/week and more vs. 23.0 (20.0-26.6) nmol/L for less than 1 drink/month). Black women had higher concentrations of DEAPs compared with White women (27.3 (21.2-35.2) vs. 23.2 (20.2-26.7) nmol/L).

IMPACT STATEMENT

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are synthetic chemicals and currently the most widely used type of insecticides. We examined multi-site, multi-ethnic cohort of midlife women in the U.S. that offers a unique opportunity to evaluate major determinants of OP exposure. We improved OP metabolite detection rates and obtained accurate concentrations using an improved analytical technique. Our findings suggest that consumptions of fruit, meat and alcohol are important determinants of OP exposure for midlife women. Higher concentrations of diethyl OP metabolites in Black women compared to White women, even after accounting for dietary intake, suggests additional, but unknown racial-ethnic differences that affect exposure.

Pesticide Use and Degradation Strategies: Food Safety, Challenges and Perspectives

While recognizing the gaps in pesticide regulations that impact consumer safety, public health concerns associated with pesticide contamination of foods are pointed out. The strategies and research directions proposed to prevent and/or reduce pesticide adverse effects on human health and the environment are discussed. Special attention is paid to organophosphate pesticides, as widely applied insecticides in agriculture, veterinary practices, and urban areas. Biotic and abiotic strategies for organophosphate pesticide degradation are discussed from a food safety perspective, indicating associated challenges and potential for further improvements. As food systems are endangered globally by unprecedented challenges, there is an urgent need to globally harmonize pesticide regulations and improve methodologies in the area of food safety to protect human health.

Biomarker responses in zebrafish (Danio rerio) following long-term exposure to microplastic-associated chlorpyrifos and benzo(k)fluoranthene

Continuously increasing plastic production causes a constant accumulation of microplastic particles (MPs) in the aquatic environment, especially in industrialized and urbanized areas with elevated wastewater discharges. This coincides with the release of persistent organic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides) entering limnic ecosystems. Although the assessment of potential effects of environmental pollutants sorbed to MPs under chronic exposure scenarios seems vital, data on potential hazards and risk by combined exposure to pollutants and microplastics for aquatic vertebrates is still limited. Therefore, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed over 21 days to the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF; 10 and 100 ng/L) and the PAH benzo(k)fluoranthene (BkF; 0.78 and 50 µg/L) either dissolved directly in water or sorbed to different MPs (irregular polystyrene, spherical polymethyl methacrylate; ≤ 100 µm), where CPF was sorbed to polystyrene MPs and BkF was sorbed to polymethyl methacrylate MPs. Contaminant sorption to MPs and leaching were documented using GC-EI-MS; potential accumulation was studied in cryosections of the gastrointestinal tract. Enzymatic biomarkers and biotransformation were measured in liver and brain. Overall, exposure to non-contaminated MPs did not induce any adverse effects. Results of fluorescence tracking, CYP1A modulation by BkF as well as changes in acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) by CPF were less pronounced when contaminants were sorbed to MPs, indicating reduced bioavailability of pollutants. Overall, following exposure to waterborne BkF, only minor amounts of parent BkF and biotransformation products were detected in zebrafish liver. Even high loads of MPs and sorbed contaminants did not induce adverse effects in zebrafish; thus, the potential threat of MPs as vectors for contaminant transfer in limnic ecosystems can be considered limited.

Improved plant bioconcentration modeling of pesticides: The role of periderm dynamics

BACKGROUND

There is a continuous need to advance pesticide plant uptake models in support of improving pest control and reducing human exposure to pesticide residues. The periderm of harvested root and tuber crops may affect pesticide uptake, but is usually not considered in plant uptake models. To quantify the influence of the periderm on pesticide uptake from soil into potatoes, we propose a model that includes an explicit periderm compartment in the soil-plant mass balance for pesticides.

RESULTS

Our model shows that the potato periderm acts as an active barrier to the uptake of lipophilic pesticides with high K_OW , while it lets more lipophobic pesticides accumulate in the medulla (pulp). We estimated bioconcentration factors (BCFs) for over 700 pesticides and proposed parameterizations for including the effects of the periderm into a full plant uptake modeling framework. A sensitivity analysis shows that both the degradation half-life inside the tuber and the lipophilicity drive the contributions of other aspects to the variability of BCFs, while highlighting distinct dynamics in the periderm and medulla compartments. Finally, we compare model estimates with measured data, showing that predictions agree with field observations for current-use pesticides and some legacy pesticides frequently found in potatoes.

CONCLUSION

Considering the periderm improves the accuracy of quantifying pesticide uptake and bioconcentration in potatoes as input for optimizing pest control and minimizing human exposure to pesticide residues in edible crops.

A global systematic review, meta-analysis and health risk assessment on the quantity of Malathion, Diazinon and Chlorpyrifos in Vegetables

It is widely believed that an increasing trend in the production and consumption of vegetables has led to a dramatic rise in the use of pesticides potentially threatening the health of consumers around the world. This systematic study along with meta-analysis has mainly centered on the evaluation of the quantity of three well-known pesticides namely, Malathion (MLT), Diazinon (DZN) and Chlorpyrifos (CPF) in vegetables. In this regard, a comprehensive literature search has been performed over the last decade (January 1, 2011 to June 21, 2020) within the scientific databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Of 1239 articles identified through the database screening, 22 plus 37 data report were retained and included in the meta-analysis phase. Additionally, the probabilistic human health risks for the consumers due to the intake of CPF, DZN and MLT from eating vegetables were estimated by the Monte Carlo Simulated (MCS) method. According to the findings, the maximum quantities of MLT, DZN and CPF in the vegetables were observed in Pakistan (222 μg/kg, 95%CI = 214.94-229.08), Thailand (245.00, 95% CI = 235.2-254.8) and South Korea (440 μg/kg, 95% CI = 437.19-442.81), while the lowest concentration levels were reported in China (1.7 μg/kg, 95% CI = 1.56-1.84), Poland (0.57, 95% CI = 0.46-0.68) and Poland (5.78 μg/kg, 95% CI = 4.40-7.12), respectively. The results of the Egger's and the Begg's tests revealed that no bias with regard to the potential publication was observed. Finally, non-carcinogenic risk assessment results demonstrated that the exposure to the studied pesticides thorough vegetables consumption could not threaten the health of consumers.

Non-thermal technologies: Solution for hazardous pesticides reduction in fruits and vegetables

Pesticide residues in the food above the maximum permissible residual limit (MRL) for safe consumption are a severe concern today. Though unit operations employed in domestic and industrial-scale processing of foods such as high-temperature decontamination and chemical washings degrade the agrochemicals and reduce toxicity, eliminating pesticides from the fresh and raw fruits and vegetables with the retainment of nutritional and organoleptic attributes demand appropriate non-thermal technologies. In this review, the potential of novel technologies like the pulsed electric field, high-pressure processing, irradiation, ozone, ultrasonication, and cold plasma for the reduction of pesticides in fruits and vegetables have been discussed in terms of their mechanism of action, playing around factors, advantages, and limitations. All the reviewed non-thermal technologies exhibited promising effects on pesticide degradation with their unique mechanism of action. Also, these techniques' potential to reduce the pesticides below MRLs and yield nontoxic metabolites in fruits and vegetables were analyzed. However, investigating the impact of the technologies on the nutritional and organoleptic quality profile of the commodities at the processing conditions causing noticeable pesticide reduction and the pathways of degradation reactions of various pesticides with each emerging technology should be studied to enhance the applicability.

Chronic health risk comparison between China and Denmark on dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most heavily used pesticides in domestic and agricultural insect prevention globally. Given the potential neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos and its high detection rates in food and drinking water, health risks attributable to chlorpyrifos residue in Chinese drinking water and food in both China and Denmark were assessed in this study. Mixed left-censored handling models were used to deal with the non-detected values in chlorpyrifos concentrations. Results show that chronic exposure imputed to chlorpyrifos residue is much lower than the reference dose, and will thus not pose appreciable health risk to the consumer. Compared to the total exposure from chlorpyrifos in drinking water and food sources, chronic exposure from drinking water sources in China accounts for 0-4.4%. Health risk owing to chlorpyrifos in food within China is 6-7-fold higher than in Denmark, and this coincides with the fact that all application of chlorpyrifos is banned in Denmark, in contrast to China. However, the Danish consumers are still exposed from imported food items. The main health risk contributors in China are the food groups of Grains and grain-based products and Vegetable and vegetable products, while the main chronic health risk contributor in Denmark is the food group of imported fruit and fruit products.

Minute-Speed Biodegradation of Organophosphorus Insecticides by Cupriavidus nantongensis X1T

Organophosphorus insecticides (OPs) have been widely used to control agricultural pests, which has raised concerns about OP residues in crops and the environment. In this study, we investigated the degradation kinetics and pathways of 8 OPs by Cupriavidus nantongensis X1^T and identified the enzyme via gene cloning and in vitro assays. The degradation half-life of methyl parathion, triazophos, and phoxim was only 5, 9, and 43 min, respectively. It was 46 fold faster than that of triazophos by Bacillus sp. TAP-1, a well-studied triazophos-degrader. Strain X1^T completely degraded not only chlorpyrifos, methyl parathion, parathion, fenitrothion, triazophos, and phoxim at 50 mg/L within 48 h but also the phenolic metabolites. This was the fastest degradation of OPs by bacterial whole cells reported thus far. The OPs were first hydrolyzed by an OP hydrolase encoded by the opdB gene in strain X1^T, followed by further degradation of the metabolites. The crude enzyme maintained a full activity.