Pesticide residues in agricultural end-products and risk assessment for consumers in North China

This study investigated pesticide residues in market-sold vegetables and fruits in Hebei Province, China, over 5 years (2018-2022). A modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method was applied to gas chromatography with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The analytical methods were validated with respect to matrix effect (ME), recovery rate (78.9 similar to 105.5%), limit of quantitation (LOQ, 2.93 similar to 9.73 mu g/kg), and linear correlation coefficient (0.9982 similar to 0.9997). Residues of 10 pesticides in 12 categories of vegetable and fruit were detected. 31.9% of the samples were detected pesticide residues; 15.5% of samples were detected multi-component pesticide residues. Twenty-seven positive detections of pesticide residues exceeded the corresponding maximum residue limit (MRL), accounting for 2.33%. The most types of pesticide residues were detected in cherry, with the number of 7. Procymidone was the most detected pesticide, and it was detected in 8 categories of samples. The hazard index (HI) of omethoate was the highest and the procymidone was the lowest. The HI of all the vegetables and fruits were less than 100%. The effects of pesticide residues are within an acceptable range for human. Adequate attention and further monitoring are still needed.