Pesticide residues in fresh vegetables imported into the United Arab Emirates

Environmental remediation of emerging contaminants using subcritical water: A review

The continuous rise of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment has been a growing concern due to their potentially harmful effects on humans, animals, plants, and aquatic life, even at low concentrations. ECs include human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, hormones, personal care products, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organic dyes, heavy metals (HMs), and others. The world's growing population contributes to the release of many kinds of chemicals into the environment, which is estimated to be more than 200 billion metric tons annually and results in over 9 million deaths. The removal of these contaminants using conventional physical, chemical, and biological treatments has proven to be ineffective, highlighting the need for simple, effective, inexpesive, practical, and eco-friendly alternatives. Thus, this article discusses the utilization of subcritical water oxidation (SBWO) and subcritical water extraction (SBWE) techniques to remove ECS from the environment. Subcritical water (water below the critical temperature of 374.15 °C and critical pressure of 22.1 Mpa) has emerged as one of the most promising methods for remediation of ECs from the environment due to its non-toxic properties, simplicity and efficiency of application. Furthermore, the impact of temperature, pressure, treatment time, and utilization of chelating agents, organic modifiers, and oxidizing agents in the static and dynamic modes was investigated to establish the best conditions for high ECs removal efficiencies.

Overview of deltamethrin residues and toxic effects in the global environment

Pyrethroids are synthetic organic insecticides. Deltamethrin, as one of the pyrethroids, has high insecticidal activity against pests and parasites and is less toxic to mammals, and is widely used in cities and urban areas worldwide. After entering the natural environment, deltamethrin circulates between solid, liquid and gas phases and enters organisms through the food chain, posing significant health risks. Increasing evidence has shown that deltamethrin has varying degrees of toxicity to a variety of organisms. This review summarized worldwide studies of deltamethrin residues in different media and found that deltamethrin is widely detected in a range of environments (including soil, water, sediment, and air) and organisms. In addition, the metabolism of deltamethrin, including metabolites and enzymes, was discussed. This review shed the mechanism of toxicity of deltamethrin and its metabolites, including neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption toxicity, reproductive toxicity, hepatorenal toxicity. This review is aim to provide reference for the ecological security and human health risk assessment of deltamethrin.

Residue levels, processing factors and risk assessment of pesticides in ginger from market to table

Ginger is consumed as a spice and medicine globally. However, pesticide residues in ginger and their residue changes during processing remain poorly understood. Our results demonstrate that clothianidin, carbendazim and imidacloprid were the top detected pesticides in 152 ginger samples with detection rates of 17.11-27.63%, and these pesticides had higher average residues of 44.07-97.63 μg/kg. Although most samples contained low levels of pesticides, 66.45% of the samples were detected with pesticides, and 38.82% were contaminated with 2-5 pesticides. Peeling, washing, boiling and pickling removed different amounts of pesticides from ginger (processing factor range: 0.06-1.56, most <1). By contrast, pesticide residues were concentrated by stir-frying and drying (0.50-6.45, most >1). Pesticide residues were influenced by pesticide physico-chemical parameters involving molecular weight, melting point, degradation point and octanol-water partition coefficient by different ginger processing methods. Chronic and acute dietary risk assessments suggest that dietary exposure to pesticides from ginger consumption was within acceptable levels for the general population. This study sheds light on pesticide residues in ginger from market to processing and is of theoretical and practical value for ensuring ginger quality and safety.

Pesticide contamination pattern from Morocco, insights into the surveillance situation and health risk assessment: a review

The widespread application of pesticides in Morocco's agriculture renders their monitoring in food and environmental samples very necessary. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in reporting studies related to the monitoring of pesticide residues in food, water, groundwater, and soil as well as their quantitative health risk assessment. Most published studies have been done by university researchers. However, the lack of research reproducibility remains a problem that considerably limits the possibility of exploiting data from the literature. Our study involves an extensive literature review utilizing search engines with keywords like "pesticide residues," "monitoring," "vegetables and fruits," "water and soil," "risk assessment," and "Morocco" from 2009 to 2023. Analysis of pesticide residues in foodstuffs and environmental samples highlights concerns over compliance with EU regulations, the health risks associated with pesticide exposure, and the necessity for comprehensive monitoring and risk assessment strategies. This paper could help influence policies to develop a strategy and action plan for the sound management of pesticides, including measures to reduce their use, raise awareness, and monitor compliance. Also, this paper could be useful for scientists interested in understanding the current situation and challenges regarding pesticide residues in Morocco, as well as countries with which commercial links exist.

Organophosphorus pesticide contaminants in fruits and vegetables: A meta-analysis

The worldwide demand for organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) in food production has raised concerns about pesticide residues. Meta-analysis, proven effective in assessing contaminants like aflatoxins and organotin compounds, is applied here to comprehensively study OP contamination in fresh fruits and vegetables. Employing Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V3.0 software, we meticulously examined 24 relevant articles encompassing 69,467 data points. Our findings revealed that while the residual concentrations of OPs (such as chlorpyrifos and profenofos) in most fruits and vegetables have typically met international or national safety standards, including Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Union, British, and Chinese standards, there are some instances in which the maximum residue limits have been exceeded, posing safety risks. Therefore, significant efforts are required to maintain residual OP contamination at safe concentrations.

Are the issues involving acephate already resolved? A scientometric review

Acephate is a pesticide classified as moderately toxic, and its metabolite methamidophos is highly toxic for mammals and birds; even so, it is one of the most used insecticides in pest control for agricultural and domestic use. Acephate toxicity affects both target and non-target organisms and causes serious damage to the environment. There are several studies on different perspectives of acephate, such as monitoring, toxicity, and modeling. In this sense, this research aims to identify the structure of intellectual production on acephate and analyze the gaps and trends of scientific production on acephate through a scientometric analysis. The data was obtained from the Web of Science database, and after the refinement, 1.085 documents were used. A temporal pattern of the main research objectives is displayed. Most selected studies evaluated acephate efficiency, followed by toxicity and residue detection methods. The USA, China, India, Brazil, and Japan had the highest number of publications on acephate. The keywords most utilized were pesticides, toxicity, insecticide resistance, and residue. Research involving acephate requires greater attention from areas such as ecotoxicology, biochemistry, genetics, and biotechnology. There needed to be more discussions on chronic toxicity, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity. Moreover, few studies about metabolic and biochemical pathways and genes related to acephate action and biodegradation were scarce.

Quality Control of Pesticide Residue Measurements and Evaluation of Their Results

Pesticide residues are monitored in many countries around the world. The main aims of the programs are to provide data for dietary exposure assessment of consumers to pesticide residues and for verifying the compliance of the residue concentrations in food with the national or international maximum residue limits. Accurate residue data are required to reach valid conclusions in both cases. The validity of the analytical results can be achieved by the implementation of suitable quality control protocols during sampling and determination of pesticide residues. To enable the evaluation of the reliability of the results, it is not sufficient to test and report the recovery, linearity of calibration, the limit of detection/quantification, and MS detection conditions. The analysts should also pay attention to and possibly report the selection of the portion of sample material extracted and the residue components according to the purpose of the work, quality of calibration, accuracy of standard solutions, and reproducibility of the entire laboratory phase of the determination of pesticide residues. The sources of errors potentially affecting the measured residue values and the methods for controlling them are considered in this article.

Occurrence, distribution, and driving factors of current-use pesticides in commonly cultivated crops and their potential risks to non-target organisms: A case study in Hainan, China

Multiple pesticides are heavily applied in crops grown in China's tropics due to the prevalence of diseases and pests, thus posing potential risks to nontarget organisms (e.g., honeybees, lacewings, ladybugs, and humans). However, there is little information on this topic. This study is the first assessment of the occurrence, driving factors, and ecological/human health risks of 32 current-use pesticides (CUPs) in 10 frequently-planted crops collected from practicing rice-vegetable rotation systems in Hainan, China. Of the 132 whole crop samples, 44 (33.3 %) residues from ≥8 pesticides were detected in 9.09 % of crop samples with concentrations ≥0.5 mg kg-1. Six pesticide residues, namely carbendazim, pyraclostrobin, acetamiprid, thiophanate methyl, phoxim, and imidacloprid, were detected in 72.7 % of samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.0021 to 13.5 (median = 0.032) mg kg-1. Among them, carbendazim, pyraclostrobin, and acetamiprid were the most common, contributions from 10.2 to 25.5 % and a detection frequency ranging from 25.6 to 56.1 %. The order of total concentration of 32 CUPs (∑32 CUP) concentrations during the year was January > May > November > August and vegetables > rice, being highly related with pesticides usage pattern, crop type, plant accumulation/dissipation and plant lipid contents. The ecological risk quotients (RQs) to four beneficial terrestrial organisms showed that 9.6-39.1 % of samples posed a potential medium or high ecological risk, with 13.6-65.9 % of samples at ∑RQ > 1 being highly affected by the residues of neonicotinoids and emamectin benzoate. Emamectin benzoate (8.9 %) and acetamiprid (5.6 %) exceeded the individual Maximum Residue Levels based on Chinese legislation (GB2763-2021). Moreover, cumulative dietary exposure presented a higher risk to humans in 11.0 and 22.0 % of the cases for acute and chronic, mainly originating from the higher concentration contributors of systemic pesticides in edible crops. Therefore, the regulation and monitoring of CUP residues is imperative for rice-vegetable rotation systems in tropical China to avoid negative effects on nontarget organisms.

Mehri KO, Pisharath VA, Holley R, Obaid RS. Pesticide residues in fresh fruits imported into the United Arab Emirates

Pesticides are a major public health issue connected with excessive use because they negatively impact health and the environment. Pesticide toxicity has been connected to various human illnesses by means of pesticide exposure in direct or indirect ways. A total of 4513 samples of imported fresh fruits were collected from Dubai ports between 2018 to 2020. Their contamination by pesticides was evaluated using gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The display of monitoring results was based on the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) standard as per the procedures of the European Union. Eighty-one different pesticide residues were detected in the tested fruit samples. In 73.2% of the samples, the pesticide levels were ≥ MRL, while 26.8% were > MRL standards. Chlorpyrifos, carbendazim, cypermethrin, and azoxystrobin were the most frequently detected pesticides in more than 150 samples. Longan (81.4%) and rambutan (66.7%) showed the highest number of imported samples with multiple pesticide residues > MRL. These results highlight the need to continuously monitor pesticide residues in fruits, particularly samples imported into the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Fruit samples with residues > MRL are considered unfit for consumption and prevented from entering commerce in the UAE.

Pesticide Residues in Vegetables and Fruits from Farmer Markets and Associated Dietary Risks

The use of pesticides leads to an increase in agricultural production but also causes harmful effects on human health when excessively used. For safe consumption, pesticide residues should be below the maximum residual limits (MRLs). In this study, the residual levels of pesticides in vegetables and fruits collected from farmers' markets in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt were investigated using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS. A total number of 40 pesticides were detected in the tested vegetable and fruit samples. Insecticides were the highest group in detection frequency with 85% and 69% appearance in vegetables and fruits, respectively. Cucumber and apple samples were found to have the highest number of pesticide residues. The mean residue levels ranged from 7 to 951 µg kg-1 (in vegetable samples) and from 8 to 775 µg kg-1 (in fruit samples). It was found that 35 (40.7%) out of 86 pesticide residues detected in vegetables and 35 (38.9%) out of 90 pesticide residues detected in fruits exceeded MRLs. Results for lambda-cyhalothrin, fipronil, dimothoate, and omethoate in spinach, zucchini, kaki, and strawberry, respectively, can cause acute or chronic risks when consumed at 0.1 and 0.2 kg day-1. Therefore, it is necessary for food safety and security to continuously monitor pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables in markets.

A Smartphone Colorimetric Sensor Based on Pt@Au Nanozyme for Visual and Quantitative Detection of Omethoate

A smartphone colorimetric sensor based on the Pt@Au nanozyme was successfully developed for the visual and quantitative detection of omethoate in fruit and vegetables. The anti-omethoate antibody was conjugated on the surface of the Pt@Au nanozyme as a catalytic functional signal probe, and coating antigen conjugated on the surface of magnetic polystyrene microspheres (MPMs) was used as a separation capture probe. In the sensing system, when the catalytic functional signal probe was combined with a separation capture probe containing no omethoate, the visible blue color appeared with the addition of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) chromogenic solution, and the maximum B value of the sensing system was obtained via the smartphone. With increasing concentrations of omethoate, the visualization of the sensing system decreased, and the B-value obtained via the smartphone dropped. Under optimal detection conditions, the omethoate could be detected in a linear range of 0.5–50 μg/L (R² = 0.9965), with a detection limit of 0.01 μg/L. The accuracy and reliability of the detection results of this colorimetric sensor were successfully confirmed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gas chromatography. This colorimetric sensor provides a technical reference and potential strategy for the immunoassay of hazard factors in resource-scarce laboratories.