Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Dietary Intake of Celery in China

Objective: Residue risk assessment of pesticides in celery was conducted to provide a scientific basis for agricultural regulation policies and working procedures.

Methods: Three hundred samples from eight main growing regions in China were collected and pesticide residue analyses were performed using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS methods. Both chronic and acute intake risk of pesticides were assessed. Furthermore, intake risk of each detected pesticide was ranked according to a predefined ranking matrix.

Results: (1) Out of these 300 samples, 175 were revealed to contain one or more pesticide residues. Twenty-five pesticides were identified in total, out of which, carbofuran was found to exceed the maximum residue limit. (2) Chronic and acute intake risks were evaluated and lie in between 0 and 1.80 and between 0.05 and 28.0 for these twenty-five pesticides, respectively. (3) Intake risk of individual pesticide was ranked; five pesticides, including avermectin, triazophos, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate oxygen, and carbofuran posed the highest risks.

Conclusion: Pesticide residues were detected in more than 58% celery samples in our study. Most pesticides have a residue level lower than their maximum residue limit and pose low chronic and acute dietary intake risk. However, usage of some pesticides like carbofuran should be closely monitored and regulated in the future.