Concentrations and Related Health Risk Assessment of Pesticides, Phthalates, and Heavy Metals in Strawberries from Shanghai, China

Variability in strawberry tunnels impacts fruit quality and limits melatonin effects

BACKGROUND

Fluctuations in environmental conditions within fields and crop plant performance can greatly affect production and quality standards. These factors are particularly relevant for producers, who require sustained optimal production to profit from small margins. Fluctuations might be exacerbated at the end of the crop season, where neither of the aforementioned factors are optimal. In the present integrated study, we assess strawberries' nutritional quality and the impact of harvest timing, tunnel conditions and inter-individual variability in a Mediterranean production tunnel divided into blocks, where two harvests were performed 3 weeks apart. In addition, the effects of sprayed melatonin at the end of productive season were also evaluated.

RESULTS

End-season harvesting negatively impacted fruit hydration, antioxidant capacity and ripening-related hormones in strawberry fruits. Additionally, tunnel distribution influenced fruit nutritional quality, with light radiation being the main variable factor disturbing antioxidant contents. Nutrients exhibited high inter-individual plant variability, accounting for 20% variation, and were strongly correlated with fruit hydration and ripening-related phytohormones. Finally, melatonin applications affected neither fruit production, nor nutritional parameters, for which the effects were masked by the intrinsic strawberry variability. Overall, the results underline the limitations of this type of application for field implementation.

CONCLUSION

Fruit quality variation in strawberry fields is explained by environmental and inter-individual variability. Likewise, the implementation of regulatory molecules such as melatonin in field applications relies on crop homogeneity and might have limited applicability in heterogeneous productive systems. Consequently, identifying and reducing microclimate variability in productive fields is paramount for advancing agricultural practices to uphold unwavering standards on fruit quality. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Co-contamination and interactions of multiple mycotoxins and heavy metals in rice, maize, soybeans, and wheat flour marketed in Shanghai City

Mycotoxins and heavy metals extensively contaminate grains and grain products, posing severe health risks. This work implements validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods to quantify the concentration of 12 mycotoxins and five heavy metals in rice, maize, soybeans, and wheat flour samples marketed in Shanghai. The mixed contamination characteristics were analyzed using correlation cluster analysis and co-contamination index, and the probabilities of all cross combinations of contaminations were analyzed using a self-designed JAVA language program. The results showed that grains and grain products were frequently contaminated with both mycotoxins and heavy metals, mostly with deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-ADON), ochratoxin A (OTA), aflatoxins, fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), fumonisin B3 (FB3), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd). All the samples (100 %) were contaminated with two or more contaminants, and 77.3 % of the samples were co-contaminated with more than four contaminants. In cereals and cereal products, the following combinations were closely associated: (FB3 +3-ADON), (FB1 +As), (FB1 +FB2), (DON+FB1), (DON+Cd), (As+Cd), (DON+Cd+As), (FB1 +FB2 +As), and (DON+3-ADON+15-ADON). The results indicated that mycotoxins and heavy metals frequently co-occurred in Shanghai grains and grain products, and they provided primary data for safety assessments, early warnings, and regulatory measures on these contaminants to protect public health.

Review of the Terminology, Approaches, and Formulations Used in the Guidelines on Quantitative Risk Assessment of Chemical Hazards in Food

This paper reviews the published terminology, mathematical models, and the possible approaches used to characterise the risk of foodborne chemical hazards, particularly pesticides, metals, mycotoxins, acrylamide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results confirmed the wide variability of the nomenclature used, e.g., 28 different ways of referencing exposure, 13 of cancer risk, or 9 of slope factor. On the other hand, a total of 16 equations were identified to formulate all the risk characterisation parameters of interest. Therefore, the present study proposes a terminology and formulation for some risk characterisation parameters based on the guidelines of international organisations and the literature review. The mathematical model used for non-genotoxic hazards is a ratio in all cases. However, the authors used the probability of cancer or different ratios, such as the margin of exposure (MOE) for genotoxic hazards. For each effect studied per hazard, the non-genotoxic effect was mostly studied in pesticides (79.73%), the genotoxic effect was mostly studied in PAHs (71.15%), and both effects were mainly studied in metals (59.4%). The authors of the works reviewed generally opted for a deterministic approach, although most of those who assessed the risk for mycotoxins or the ratio and risk for acrylamide used the probabilistic approach.

Advanced QuEChERS Method Using Core-Shell Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (Fe3O4@MIP) for the Determination of Pesticides in Chlorophyll-Rich Samples

Graphitized carbon black (GCB) in the traditional QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method was used to remove the interfering substance chlorophyll in vegetable and fruit samples for pesticide residues determination. However, it not only adsorbs pigments, but also adsorbs some planar and aromatic pesticides. In order to solve the shortcoming, a core-shell magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (Fe3O4@MIP) that can specifically recognize and adsorb chlorophyll was synthesized, and an advanced QuEChERS method with the Fe3O4@MIP as a purification material was developed. This advanced method presents detection that is highly sensitive, specific, and reproducible for planar and aromatic pesticides. The limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.001-0.002 mg kg-1, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.005 mg kg-1. The recovery for the planar and aromatic pesticides was within 70-110% with the associated relative standard deviations < 15% in leek samples by the advanced QuEChERS method. However, in the traditional QuEChERS method with GCB, the recovery of most planar and aromatic pesticides was <60%. It may also be useful for the determination of other pesticides in vegetable samples with quick and easy sample purification.

Residual behavior and risk assessment of fluopyram, acetamiprid and chlorantraniliprole used individually or in combination on strawberry

In this study, fluopyram (FOR), acetamiprid (ATP), and chlorantraniliprole (CAP) were used individually or in combination at the maximum recommended dose in greenhouse strawberries to research the dissipation dynamics and dietary risks. A multi-residue analytical method for FOR, ATP, and CAP in strawberries using UPLC-MS/MS integrated with the QuEChERS approach was developed with strong linearity (R² ≧ 0.9990), accuracy (recoveries of 82.62 to 107.79%), and precision (relative standard deviations of 0.58% to 12.73%). The limits of quantification were 0.01 mg kg^-1. Field results showed that the half-lives of FOR, ATP and CAP in strawberry fruits were 11.6-12.4 days, 6.1-6.7 days, and 10.9-11.7 days, respectively. The half-lives of the three investigated pesticides showed no significant difference when used individually or in combination. A risk assessment indicated that the dietary intake risks of the three pesticides in grown strawberries were 0.0041 to 7.63% whether applied alone or in combination, which demonstrated that the dietary intake risks of the three pesticides in grown strawberries could be negligible for Chinese male and female consumers, and that even though pesticides were used in combination, there was less cause for concern about the safety. This paper serves as a guide for the safe use of FOR, ATP, and CAP on greenhouse strawberries.

Chemometric Valorization of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. 'Albion' for the Production of Functional Juice: The Impact of Physicochemical, Toxicological, Sensory, and Bioactive Value

Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duch. cv. 'Albion') were harvested at two stages of ripeness (75% vs. 100%) and their physicochemical, sensory, toxicological, and bioactive properties were evaluated before and after processing into juice. The fresh fruits and their by-products were also evaluated. During processing into juice, the color change was higher in the fully ripe fruits, confirming the encouraging prospects for using the less ripe strawberries for processing. The analysis of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, As, Cd, Pb) was carried out, and in juice and by-product samples of 100% maturity, only Pb was higher than the MDK. Of the 566 pesticides analyzed, only cyprodinil was found in the by-products of the strawberries at 75% maturity, while pyrimethanil was detected in all samples. Fresh strawberries of both ripeness levels were rated similarly to the corresponding juices for all sensory attributes studied, indicating that sensory perception was not affected by processing. However, ripeness was found to be an important factor influencing most sensory attributes. The by-products were the materials with the highest levels of all bioactive compounds. Considering all quality parameters evaluated, the chemometric evaluation confirms the suitability of 75% ripe strawberries for processing into functional juice, which could be important for the juice industry.