































Highlights in BioScience
ISSN:2682-4043
DOI:10.36462/H.BioSci.202301

Research Article

Open Access

1 Vegetable Research Department, Horticulture

Research Institute, Agricultural Research Cen-

ter, Giza, Egypt.
2 Institute of Environmental Studies, Arish Uni-

versity, North Sinai, Egypt.
3 Plant Production Department, Faculty of Envi-

ronmental Agricultural Sciences. Arish Univer-

sity, North Sinai, Egypt.
4 Department of Family and Community Health

Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Suez Canal Uni-

versity, Ismailia, Egypt.
5 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of

Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia,

Egypt, P.O. Box 41522.

* To whom correspondence should be
addressed:
mobark_mohamed99@yahoo.com

Editor: Aladdin Hamwieh, International Center
for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA), Giza, Egypt.

Reviewer(s):
Khaled H. Radwan, Agricultural Genetic
Engineering Research Institute (AGERI),
Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt.

Tawffiq Istanbuli, International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA),
Beirut, Lebanon

Received: October 20, 2022

Accepted: January 3, 2023

Published: January 26, 2023

Citation: Abuo El-kasem SAA, Naiel MHF,
Mubarak MH, Megahed FIA, El-Deeb
GSS. Assessment of pesticide residues in
vegetables selected from different Egyptian
governorates. 2023 Jan 26;6:bs202301

Copyright: © 2023 Abuo El-kasem et al.. This is
an open access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper and supplementary materials.
Funding: The authors have no support or funding
to report.
Competing interests: The authors declare that they
have no competing interests.

Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different
Egyptian governorates

Sameh A. A. Abuo El-kasem 1
><, Mohamed H. F. Naiel 2

><, Mohamed H.
Mubarak *,3

>< , Fatma I. A. Megahed 4
>< , Gehad S. S. El-Deeb 5

><

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the levels of contamination by pesticide residues in
several types of vegetables collected from different regions in Egypt. A total of 100
samples of vegetables (pepper, tomato, cucumber, and strawberry) were collected
from markets in five cities (Al-Obour, Al-Salheia El-Gadida, Giza, Zagazig, and
Fayed) and analyzed for the presence of 42 different pesticide residues. The Quick,
Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method was used to extract
the target pesticides, which were then quantified using Gas Chromatography-Mass
Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
(LC-MS/MS) techniques. The results showed that 72% of the vegetable samples
contained detectable levels of pesticide residues, with 21% exceeding the European
Union Maximum Residue Levels (EU-MRLs) and 51% containing residues below
the MRLs. The detected residues were primarily insecticides (56.4%) and fungicides
(43.6%), with tomato and strawberry samples showing the highest frequency of both
types of pesticides. Tomato also had the highest absolute intake from consumption
(2.89 g/kg BW/day), followed by strawberries, peppers, and cucumbers (0.47, 0.159,
and 0.096 g/kg BW/day, respectively). A hazard index (HI) was used to assess
the dietary risk posed by the pesticide residues, with tomato having the highest
contribution value. These findings highlight the need for Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) programs to reduce the excessive use of pesticides, particularly in relation
to raw food commodities. Action is required to minimize the unacceptable risks
identified in this study.

Keywords: Food safety, Pesticide residues, Risk assessment, Estimated daily intake, Monitor-

ing

Introduction
Fruit and vegetables have been a cornerstone of healthy dietary recommendations. They have

potential health-promoting effects beyond providing basic nutrition needs in humans, including their

role in reducing inflammation and their potential preventive effects on various chronic disease states

such as cardiovascular disease and cancer leading to premature mortality decreasing years loss of

individuals’ life and years-to-come lived with disability/morbidity. Consumers are now choosing

fruits and vegetables not only for their content of vitamins, minerals and fiber, but also for their

concentration of dietary bioactive with its anti-inflammatory effects [1]. In agriculture, pesticides are

considered a quick, and easy solution for controlling weeds and insect pests, improving production

and productivity of agriculture commodity to feed the ever growing population, controlling vector

borne disease like malaria and reducing the resultant mortality and morbidity. Surprisingly; the

global consumption of pesticides is about two million tons per year and out of which 45% is used by

Europe alone, 25% is consumed in the USA, and 25% in the rest of the world. Despite their benefits,

pesticides can be hazardous to humans and environment and non-intended organisms ranging from

beneficial soil microorganisms to insects, plants, fish and birds. Environmental contamination or

prevailing use of pesticides can expose the general population to pesticide residues leading to serious

and prolonged toxicity. It was estimated that a minimum of 300,000 people die from pesticide

poisoning each year, with 99% of them from low- and middle-income countries in 2009 [2].

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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
samehaoelkaseem7@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8275-0945
mohamednail123@Yahoo.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1850-1308
mobark_mohamed99@yahoo.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2981-381X
dr.fm_2013@yahoo.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3255-1926
gehadeldeeb@yahoo.co.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9132-8508
http://bioscience.highlightsin.org/


Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Pesticides in food are monitored by the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). One of the top priorities in securing and preserving com-
munity and public health, is food safety. Food safety is partic-
ularly important to ensure the healthiness of food, especially to
fruits and vegetables as they are consumed in substantial and
considerable quantities customarily without any processing. They
are susceptible to pests at any point in the production chain, from
the field through storage ahead till food consumption. Their pes-
ticide residues are yet present in the vegetable-treated products,
which may constitute a potential hazards for consumers. Some
of these hazards were identified in fruits and vegetables were
because of incorrect application of pesticides either by the pro-
ducers’ application or the insufficient monitoring of the contam-
inated soil and/or water [3]. Major causes of the environment
pollution were from prejudicial human activities and improper
application, spillage, and decomposition. However and despite
all precautions, a very minute amount of pesticide-residues can
remain in the treated crop. The Maximum Residue Level (MRL),
the maximum quantity of residue that is legally permitted on a
food material, ensures that both imported and exported goods
are moderately safe to consume. Pesticide misuse, false posi-
tives from naturally occurring compounds, variances in national
MRLs standards, a lack of registered pesticides, and improper
pesticide application can all cause MRLs to be exceeded [4].

The sources of the MRLs, however, can affect the frequency
of infractions. However, the creation of MRLs is based on in-
formation from Supervised Trials Mean Residues (STMR), Ac-
ceptable Daily Intake (ADI), Acute Reference Dose (ARfD), as
well as data from Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) that has
been registered nationally. The percentages of violation will be
very different, for instance, because the maximum permissible
residue of profenofos on tomatoes is 10 mg/kg in the Codex and
0.01 mg/kg in European standards. In order to determine the ac-
tual risk of exposure, it is crucial to compare the findings with
a more reliable toxicological endpoint, such as ADI or ARfD.
The Egyptian ought to take into account creating MRLs based
on regional best practices for agriculture and locally adminis-
tered paths. The major tool for ensuring that the pesticides were
applied in assembly with good agricultural practices is the mon-
itoring program. These programs when applied in conformity
with Good Agricultural Practices, treated goods should not have
exceeded levels of pesticide residue [5].

The health risks of pesticides are regularly evaluated through
monitoring programs for EU nations. According to the yearly
DG SANCO report, 47% of the fruits, vegetables, and grains
eaten in Europe in 2004 had pesticide residues [6]. Pesticides
that can be used in certain foods and feed commodities have
maximum residual limitations, or tolerances, determined by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These restrictions are
put in place to safeguard people from hazardous pesticide levels
in their food [7]. A variety of pesticides, including organochlo-
rine, organophosphorus, carbamate, insecticides, fungicides, and

herbicides, are used by farmers all over the world to prevent the
devastating crop loss that can result from pests and diseases as
well as to boost agricultural productivity to ensure a sufficient
supply of food for the expanding population [8].

Food contamination creates severe health issues worldwide,
ranging from minor ailments to fatal ones [9]. Therefore; it is
well established that contaminated food poses a risk to the gen-
eral public health. However; producing, processing, moving,
and handling food can all lead to food contamination [10; 11;
9; 12]. There are two types of pollution: short-term pollution
at high concentrations of chemicals (induced by inadvertent re-
lease or contamination from the source) and long-term pollution
of low concentrations of chemicals (produced by the progressive
diffusion of pollutants in food) [13]. Different chemical classes
or families typically produce dissimilar symptoms. The amount
of pollutants in food ingested in relation to the daily amount of
food can be used to estimating the level of pollutants in the hu-
man body [14].

Numerous studies have demonstrated that persistent organic
pollutants, such as organochlorine insecticides, have a variety
of negative impacts, including aberrant immune system develop-
ment, birth abnormalities, and foetal death [15; 16].

Because of this, pesticides are regarded as one of the world’s
top environmental and health risks [17]. Many nations and inter-
national organizations, including the European Union, the World
Health Organization, and the United Nations Environment Pro-
gram, have acclaimed that both organic and inorganic pollutants
pose a serious risk to health, particularly the health of children
[18]. They have gradually released a number of suggestions or
guidelines intended to limit or outlaw the use of these pollutants
or pollutant products. For instance, the amount of lead in the
environment has decreased as a result of several countries ban-
ning the addition of tetra-methyl lead to gasoline [19]. For con-
sumers protection from exposure to unacceptable levels of pesti-
cide residues in food and feed, the European Commission has set
maximum residue levels (MRLs), defined as the highest possible
level of a pesticide residue that is legally authorized in food and
feed. Based on the results obtained from environmental sam-
ple analysis, it has been proven that the Modified QuEChERS
method coupled to Gas Chromatography GC-MS/MS with elec-
tron capture detector (GC-ECD) which are analytical procedures
for routine analysis and simultaneous determination of selected
electronegative pesticides in fruits and vegetables with high wa-
ter content. These procedures are suitable not only for fruits and
vegetables with high water content, but also for samples contain-
ing large amounts of pigments and dyes [3].

For risk assessment analyses that could be linked to acciden-
tal intakes of contaminants at very high levels and could have
severe unfavorable effects on the human body, quantitative data
on the concentration of contaminants in food are an essential
tool [20] . Though pesticides assist increase crop productiv-
ity, the amount and variety of food consumed, and likewise the
development of some diseases [21]. Pesticides can be catego-

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

rized according to their unique biological activity or their target
species, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and acari-
cides, in addition to functional groups [22; 23]. The maximum
daily consumption that a person is permitted to consume during
their lifetime without posing a significant risk to that person has
been determined by numerous health and environmental protec-
tion agencies as "acceptable daily intake" (ADI) levels. Envi-
ronmental pollution is, without any doubts, a serious global con-
cern. Many nations have made positive efforts to limit the use
of pesticides. Procedures and approaches are utilized to evalu-
ate the detrimental impacts brought on by pollutants as a result
of pollutant risk assessment. To evaluate past, present, and fu-
ture exposure to any environmental pollutants, a risk assessment
can be carried out. The majority of the time, analyses of ma-
terial hazards are based on scientific research on the activities,
exposure, quantity, and toxicity of chemicals. The amount of
pollutants present in the environment, food, and/or products; the
number of people exposed to the pollutants; and the damages of
pollutants all affect the risks [24].

Many organochlorine pesticides have been outlawed or have
had their usage severely restricted in Europe and North Amer-
ica, yet they are still sold and used in Africa. Residential pesti-
cide use in Egypt is high. Adolescents in Egypt are exposed to
pesticides through non-occupational and para-occupational path-
ways. In addition to the hormonal and physiological changes as-
sociated with puberty, there are also significant developmental
changes in the brain, primarily the prefrontal cortex. The im-
pact of environmental exposures can vary across developmental
periods and consequences of prolonged exposure can last into
adulthood [25]. The purpose of this study was to assess the lev-
els of a group of pesticide residues in the commonly consumed
vegetables in Egypt, and to evaluate their health risk according
to estimated quantity of exposure.

Material and methods
Samples

A total of 100 vegetable samples (pepper, tomato, cucumber,
and strawberry) were collected from local markets of five Egyp-
tian cities: Al-Obour (Qalyubia Governorate), Al-Salheia El-
Gadida (Sharqia Governorate), Giza (Giza Governorate), Zagazig
Sharqia (Governorate), and Fayed (Ismailia Governorate)). Each
representative vegetable sample was made up of 10 identical
commodity subsamples that were simultaneously obtained from
each market using random sampling. Vegetable samples were
packed in proper bags and stored at 4oc until analysis.

Sample preparation and analysis
About 2 kg of each vegetable sample (pepper, tomato, cu-

cumber, and strawberry) was thoroughly washed with tap water,
chopped and blended using a waring laboratory blender. Each
sample was chopped and ground in accordance with the gener-
ally suggested procedure described by the Codex Alimentarius
Commission in 1993 for no more than two days prior to analysis.

According to Anastassiades et al., [26] the QuEChERS method
was used to extract pesticides from the vegetable samples. A 50
ml polypropylene (PP) tube containing 10 gm of each sample
was weighed, 10 ml of acetonitrile was added, and the tube was
forcefully shaken for one minute. Phase separation was achieved
by centrifuging the liquid at 4000 rpm for 5 min after adding
buffering citrate salts (pH 5 to 5.5), containing 4g of magnesium
sulphate, and 1g of sodium chloride. For analysis, an aliquot
of the organic phase was directly loaded into LC-MS/MS. Dis-
persive solid phase extraction (DSPE). Extracts from the sam-
ples were evaporated and then redissolved along with injection
standard for GC-MS/MS analysis after cleaning with primary
secondary amine sorbent (PSA). Aldrin was used as an internal
standard for quantification, and it was added to the GC-MS/MS
system right before injection. GC MS/MS and LC-MS/MS were
used for the identification and confirmation of pesticide residues
in the samples.

Calculation of ADI and HI
Comparing the established acceptable daily intake (ADI) with

the estimated acceptable daily intake (EDI), which is based on
the concentration of pesticide residues and food consumption,
gives the risk assessment. The EDI (mg/kg BW/day) for each
pesticide residue that was violated was computed by multiplying
the mean pesticide residue concentration (mg/kg) x food con-
sumption and then dividing by the typical adult’s body weight
(60 kg) of each commodity. Based on GEMS/FOODS from the
WHO’s Global Environment Monitoring System [27], accept-
able daily intake was determined.

EDI =
Concentration o f pesticideresidue × Food consumed

Body weight
(1)

The daily consumption rate of vegetables was derived con-
clusively for this study from the reports of WHO/ FAO [28],
WHO/ Global Environment Monitoring System-Food Contam-
ination, Monitoring and Evaluation Program average consump-
tion cluster diets [27], and Gad Alla et al., [29]. If data from
food balance sheets are unavailable for a commodity, the con-
sumption level for a comparable food is used (WHO 1997). Be-
cause there isn’t a strawberry consumption rate available, the
consumption level of a comparable food is used. The scientific
names and daily intake rate (g/day) for the used vegetable sam-
ples are given in Table 1 . The EU Pesticides Database served
as the source for both the maximum residue limits (MRLs) and
the established acceptable daily intake (ADI) values. Using the
health risk index, the health risk for consumers from consuming
pesticide-contaminated samples was described (HI). It is calcu-
lated by dividing the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) by the corre-
sponding values of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI in mg/kg)
specified by WHO/FAO as stated in the equation 2:

HI =
EDI
ADI

100 (2)

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 1. Scientific names and consumption rate of studied commodities in
g/day based on GEMS/food total diet food balance sheet. Consumption rate
(g/day) based on WHO/Global Environment Monitoring SystemFood Contam-
ination, Monitoring and Assessment Program average consumption cluster C
diets[27].

Common Name Scientific Name Family Name Crop type Consumption (g/day)*

Cucumber Cucumis sativas L. Cucurbitaceae Vegetable 5.9

Pepper Capsicum Annum L. Solanaceae Vegetable 13

Strawberry Fragaria ananassa L. Rosaceae Vegetable 20

Tomato Solanum lycopersicum Solanaceae Vegetable 118

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
[30; 31] El-Sawy et al. and [32]. When the HI is less than 100%,
the food concerned is considered acceptable. If it is above 100%,
the food concerned is considered a risk to the consumer [33].

Results and Discussion
Use of excessive pesticides contaminates soil, water and fi-

nally enters the food chain and contaminates the food produced.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has found suf-
ficient evidence of carcinogenic potential in most of the pesti-
cides beyond the threshold limit. The United Nations Environ-
ment Program estimates accidental pesticide poisoning causing
20, 000 deaths and 1 million cases of illness per year worldwide
[34]. Forty-two commonly used pesticides in agriculture were
identified in this study. The broad scope analyzed includes nu-
merous groups of pesticides such as organophosphorous, organo–
chlorine, pyrethroids and other groups of pesticides widely used
or outlawed in Egypt. According to a directive issues by Egypt’s
Agriculture Pesticides Committee (Codex+EU), pesticide residue
levels should be compared to Codex Alimentarious when it is
available and to EU-MRLs when Codex MRLs are not accessi-
ble. In this investigation, only the codex Alimentarious MRLs
and the Agriculture Pesticides Committee decree were used to
compare the monitoring data. Table 2 listed the number of
samples evaluated, the range of pesticides found, the average
in mg/kg, the number of chemicals violated in the samples ana-
lyzed, and the status of each pesticide/commodity combination
in the registration system established by the Agricultural pesti-
cide committee (APC). A number of 32 out a total of 42 pes-
ticides were detected in strawberry fruits. Fluopyram had the
highest pesticide concentration in the samples, whereas Iprodion
had the lowest pesticide residue (Table 2).

Data revealed that 13 (52%) of the strawberry fruit samples
had no detectable pesticide residues. Whereas, a total of 12 sam-
ples (48%) contained pesticide residues, of which 10% were
contaminated samples and contained residues at levels below
the MRLs, and 8% had residues over the allowed limits (Table
2). However, according to the APC regulation, the breach was
found in 8% of cases when comparing the results to (codex +
EU restrictions). Bifenazate, methamidophos, fluopyram, met-
alax, captan, propargite, and pyrimethanill are seven pesticide
residues that recorded greater amounts than their regulated EU

MRL values (Table 2 and Figure 1). The discovered quantities
of pyrimethanill contamination (LOQ to 0.076, average 0.048
mg/kg) were not too far from the MRL (0.05 mg/kg). Other-
wise, the residues of both fluopyram and methamidophos exhib-
ited a serious issue because their concentrations in strawberries
exceeded their MRL values by 4 and 9 fold, respectively. This
indicates that it is necessary to regulate their use.

Figure 1. The percentage of detected pesticide residues in samples based on
pesticide type.

Regarding the outcomes of the tomato samples, which were
the second crop of the vegetables under study, roughly 17 pes-
ticides were detected in the tomato samples (25), as shown in
Table 3. Among the pesticides found, only 8 (bifenazate, cap-
tan, fluopyram, chlorfenapyr, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, lambda-
cyhalothrin, and thiofanat-methyle) had concentrations greater
than the MRLs reported for tomato (Table 2 and Figure 2).
However, data in Table 3 revealed that 28% (7) of tomato fruit
samples had no detectable pesticide residues (25). While pes-
ticide residues were discovered in 18 samples (72%) of which
48% (12 samples) were contaminated tests recorded residual
amounts comparable to the worldwide MRLs for them in tomato
and 24% had residues over the allowed levels, pesticide residues
were also discovered in other samples.

Fenarimol fungicide, followed by Malathion insecticide, had
the highest pesticide mean in samples, whereas Fenpropathrin
and Metalaxyl had the lowest pesticide residue levels (Table
4). However, pesticide residues were discovered in 21 sam-
ples (84%), of which 36% (9 samples) had residues over the
allowed limits and 48% (12 samples) of contaminated samples
had residues at levels higher than the MRLs (Table 4). Accord-
ing to the decision of the Agriculture Pesticides Committee in
Egypt, a violation was found in one sample when results were
compared to codex and EU limitations, and in the other eight
samples when findings were compared to solely EU limits. Data
in Table 5 regarding cucumber fruits showed that the majority of
the investigated pesticides (12 out of 42) were detected in cucum-
ber samples. Only 2 insecticides (Abamectin & Acetamiprid)
and 2 fungicides (Captan & Penconazole) out of the detected 12
pesticides had concentrations greater than the MRLs indicated
for cucumber, as shown in Table 5.

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Figure 2. Frequency percentages of most detected pesticide residues in vegetable samples.

In total, 16% of the cucumber samples had no detectable pes-
ticide residues, while the remaining 84% contained detectable
residues which 68% of contaminated samples contain resides at
levels lower than the MRL’s and 16 % (4 samples) had residues
above the permissible limits as shown in Figure 3. The MRLs
are often set well below the thresholds deemed safe for humans.
It is important to understand that MRLs are not safety limits;
food residues might have levels beyond MRLs while still being
safe to eat [35]. According to IFOAM [36], MRLs are not a guar-
antee of "zero health risk" in this situation; rather, they are only
indicators of whether or not Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
are being violated, not a sign of a health danger. Risk exposure
should therefore be assessed using toxicological endpoints like
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). When it comes to earlier Egyp-
tian investigations, the pattern of pesticides in tomato indicated
that the detection levels of dimethoate, pirimiphos-methyl, and
profenofos were 0.461, 0.114, and 0.28, respectively [37].

Figure 3. The contamination and the violation percentages per each commod-
ity of vegetables.

Otherwise, greater residual levels of profenofos and Malathion
were found in tomato samples taken from various areas in Egypt,
according to Dogheim et al., [38]. Additionally, greater profeno-
fos residue levels were found in strawberry samples taken from
eight local markets in six Egyptian governorates [39; 40; 38],
but not in tomato or strawberry samples taken for this study. The
organophosphorus pesticides (thiometon, phorate, and chlorpyrifos-
methyl) were found in cucumbers in a different investigation by
Mansour et al., [41] for the monitoring of pesticides and heavy
metals. The levels of pesticides in some vegetables gathered
from neighborhood markets in Cairo governorate were assessed
by Farag et al., [42]. According to their findings, strawberries
had the highest levels of contamination with various pesticides,
with mean contamination levels of 0.034, 0.023, 0.033, 0.024,
and 0.050 mg/kg, respectively, for ethion, propargite, perme-
thrin, profenofos, and chlorpyrifos. Pepper was found to con-
tain only two different types of insecticides (sulfur, methomyl).
Pesticides were not found in tomatoes or cucumbers. Addition-
ally, Ibrahim et al., [43] assessed the pesticide residues in cer-
tain vegetables purchased at local marketplaces in eight gover-
norates around Egypt. They came to the conclusion that the re-
ported negative samples for pepper and cucumber were 19.4%
and 27.9%, respectively. For pepper and cucumber, respectively,
the recorded positive samples were 80.6% and 72.1%. Accord-
ing to Badr et al., [44] , who assessed the pesticide residues in
Egyptian crops, profenophos measured pesticide levels in tomato
and cucumber at 0.56 and 0.28 mg/kg, respectively. The levels
of pesticide residue found in vegetable samples by Loutfy et al.,
[45] and Ahmed et al., [46] are consistent with our findings.

According to Dogheim et al., [38] , the relatively limited
amount of pesticides used in the research areas and the widespread
awareness and usage of integrated pest management (IPM) pro-
grams may be responsible for this low contamination level. Con-

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 2. Pesticide residues levels found in strawberry fruits, frequencies, their
corresponding MRLs, number of violated samples and the status of registra-
tion of each detected pesticide in analyzed samples collected from different
governorates during 2020.

Active Ingredient Freq.
Residues (mg/kg) MRL VC

(>MRL)
EAPC

Min Max Mean Codex EU

Acetamiprid 1 0.039 0.039 0.039 0.5 0.3 R-NRI

Azoxystrobin 7 0.012 0.12 0.054 10 2 R-NRI

Bifenazate 4 0.012 0.25 0.083 2 0.1 1 R-RI

Bifenazole 3 0.01 0.029 0.016 - 0.1 NR

Boscalid 6 <LOQ 0.11 0.043 - 0.9 R-NRI

Buprofezin 1 0.081 0.081 0.081 3 3 NR

Captan 5 0.017 0.294 0.133 15 0.1 2 R-RI

Carbendazim 2 0.02 0.07 0.045 0.5 0.1 Banned, 2018

Chlorantraniliprole 1 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.3 1 R-NRI

Chlorpyrifos 3 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.3 0.01 R-NRI

Cyproconazole 1 0.017 0.017 0.017 0.01 0.05 NR

Difenoconazole 4 <LOQ 0.042 0.031 2 1 R-NRI

Fluopyram 2 0.031 0.44 0.236 0.4 0.1 1* R-RI

Flutazole 1 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ NA 0 NR

Flutriafol 1 0.021 0.021 0.021 1.5 1.5 R-NRI

Imidacloprid 2 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.5 0.5 R-NRI

Indoxacarb (p) 3 0.013 0.06 0.024 0.02 0.6 R-NRI

Iprodion 2 0.012 0.013 0.013 10 0.05 Banned, 2018

Lambda-Cyhalothrin 2 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.02 0.02 R-NRI

Metalax 3 0.01 0.09 0.033 0.5 0.05 1 R-NRI

Methamidophos 3 0.068 0.097 0.078 0.01 0.01 3* NR, 2007

Methoxyfenozide 3 0.038 0.076 0.059 2 2 R-NRI

Paclobuttazol 1 <IOQ <IOQ <IOQ NA 0.01 NR

Penconazole 1 0.018 0.018 0.018 0.5 0.1 R-NRI

Pirimicarb 1 0.11 0.11 0.11 - 0.5 R-NRI

Propargite 5 <LOQ 0.095 0.067 2 0.05 2 NR

Propiconazole 2 0.01 0.046 0.028 3 0.05 NR

Pyraclostrobin 4 0.01 0.053 0.022 1.5 0.1 R-RI

Pyrimethanil 3 <LOQ 0.076 0.048 0.1 0.05 2 R-RI

Spirodiclofen 2 <LOQ 0.025 0.013 2 0.5 R-NRI

Tetraconazole 1 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ NA 0.2 R-NRI

Thiophanate.mathyle 2 0.038 0.068 0.053 NA 0.1 R-RI

* MRL of EU+ codex Alimentarious, others were of EU, Freq= Number of Pesticides

Found on the Commodity, R= Registered, R1= Recommended, NR= Not Registered,

NR1= Not Recommended, EAPC=Egyptian Agriculture Pesticide Committee ,

VC=Violated Compound

Table 3. Pesticide residues levels found in tomato, frequencies, their corre-
sponding MRLs, number of violated samples and the status of registration of
each detected pesticide in analyzed samples collected from different gover-
norates during 2020.

Active Ingredient Freq.
Residues (mg/kg) MRL VC

(>MRL)
EAPC

Min Max Mean Codex EU

Abamectin 1 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.05 0.09 - R-RI

Acetamiprid 3 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.2 0.5 - R-RI

Azoxystrobin 3 0.014 0.022 0.015 3 3 - R-RI

Bifenazate 5 <LOQ 0.16 0.160 0.5 (2007) 0.1 2 R-RI

Boscalid 2 0.010 0.030 0.020 X 3 - R-NRI

Captan 4 0.050 0.368 0.228 5 (2008) 0.1 2 R-NRI

Chlorfenapyr 7 0.010 0.071 0.022 0.4 (2019) 0.01 5 R-RI

Chlorpyrifos 5 0.021 0.053 0.036 1 0.01 5 R-RI

Cyfluthrin 1 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.2 (2008) 0.05 - NR

Difenoconazole 3 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.6 2 - R-RI

Dimethoate 3 0.010 0.020 0.017 NA 0.01 2 R-NRI

Fluopyram 2 0.100 0.410 0.255 0.5 0.1 1* R-NRI

Indoxacarb 6 0.010 0.040 0.022 0.5 0.5 - R-RI

Lambda-Cyhalothrin 7 <LOQ 0.110 0.060 NA 0.01 2 R-NRI

Methoxyfenozide 7 0.010 0.062 0.024 2 (2005) 2 - R-RI

Thiofanat-methyle 4 0.080 1.200 0.570 X 1 1 R-NRI

Trifloxystrobin 6 <LOQ 0.010 0.010 0.7 (2006) 0.01* - R

* MRL of EU+ codex Alimentarious, others were of EU, Freq= Number of Pesticides

Found on the Commodity, R= Registered, R1= Recommended, NR= Not Registered,

NR1= Not Recommended, EAPC=Egyptian Agriculture Pesticide Committee , VC=

Violated Compound

Table 4. Pesticide residues levels found in pepper , frequencies, their corre-
sponding MRLs, number of violated samples and the status of registration of
each detected pesticide in analyzed samples collected from different gover-
norates during 2020.

Active Ingredient Freq.
Residues (mg/kg) MRL VC

(>MRL)
EAPC

Min Max Mean Codex EU

Chlorofenapyr 1 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.01 - R-NRI

Chloropyrifos 7 0.01 0.07 0.03 2 0.02 5 R-NRI

Dimethoate 1 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.5 0.01 - R-NRI

Fenarimol 5 <LOQ 0.3 0.22 0.5 0.1 3 R-NRI

Fenpropathrin 1 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 1 0.01 - R-NRI

Fluopyram 2 0.03 0.05 0.04 3 0.1 - R-NRI

Imidacloprid 1 0.09 0.09 0.09 1 0.5 - R-NRI

Malathion 1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.01 1* R-NRI

Metalaxyl 2 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 1 1 - R-NRI

Methoxyfenozide 1 0.06 0.06 0.06 2 2 - R-NRI

Spinetoram 4 0.01 0.07 0.04 0.4 0.5 - R-RI

* MRL of EU+ codex Alimentarious, others were of EU, Freq= Number of

Pesticides Found on the Commodity, EAPC=Egyptian Agriculture

Pesticide Committee , VC=Violated Compound

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 5. Pesticide residues levels found in cucumber , frequencies, their cor-
responding MRLs, number of violated samples and the status of registration
of each detected pesticide in analyzed samples collected from different gover-
norates during 2020.

Active Ingredient Freq.
Residues (mg/kg) MRL VC

(>MRL)
EAPC

Min Max Mean Codex EU

Abamectin 6 0.01 0.07 0.04 0.03 0.04 2* R-RI

Acetamiprid 9 0.06 0.1 0.12 0.3 0.3 1* R-RI

Captan 5 <LOQ 0.7 0.21 3 0.1 2 R-NRI

Chloropyrifos 3 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.05 - R-NRI

Cypermethrin 2 0.17 0.2 0.18 0.2 0.2 - R-NRI

Difenoconazole 3 <LOQ <LOQ <LOQ 0.2 0.2 - R-RI

Fenpropathrin 1 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.5 0.5 - R-NRI

Fluopyram 1 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.5 0.1 - R-NRI

L-Cyhalothrin 2 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.1 0.1 - R-NRI

Malathion 1 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.2 0.02 - R-RI

Metalaxyl 3 0.16 0.3 0.23 0.5 0.5 - R-RI

Penconazole 4 0.01 0.04 0.02 0.06 0.01 2 R-NRI

* MRL of EU+ codex Alimentarious, others were of EU, Freq= Number of

Pesticides Found on the Commodity, R= Registered, R1= Recommended,

NR= Not Registered, NR1= Not Recommended , EAPC=Egyptian

Agriculture Pesticide Committee , VC=Violated Compound

trarily, numerous pesticides, including those forbidden in Egypt,
are nevertheless found in a variety of environmental components,
including groundwater, surface water, fished, mussels, medical
plants, soils, and sediments [47; 48; 49; 50; 46]. Additionally,
some pesticides were found in only one crop, as shown in the
corresponding Tables for the crops of strawberry (13 pesticides),
tomato (2, cyfluthrin & trifloxystrobin), and pepper (2, fenarimol
& spinetoram), despite the fact that many common pesticides
were found in multiple crops in some of the samples used for the
current investigation. In light of these findings, a distinction be-
tween the types of pesticide residue found on the Egyptian sam-
ples during the current investigation and those conducted previ-
ously was noted. The dominant pesticide group was adjusted in
addition to the pesticide itself. A regular pesticide mentoring
survey should therefore be recommended because it is related to
the evaluation of the safety of fruits used in human food. The
Ministry of Agriculture’s various control programs, which vary
from one field and/or location to another depending on the type
of injury and the different environmental conditions, may be to
blame for the high incidence of the majority of tested pesticides
in some vegetable samples of the current investigation.

Pesticide frequencies (Detected pesticides type)
According to Figure 1, the types of pesticide residues that

were found in vegetable samples were insecticides and fungi-
cides, with percentages of 55.75% and 44.25%, respectively. In-
secticides were found in descending order at frequencies of 21.2,
17.05, 8.75, and 8.75% in tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers
and peppers. In descending order, fungicides with rates of 20.74,
10.60, 9.68, and 3.23% were found in strawberries, tomatoes, cu-
cumbers, and peppers. But compared to pepper and cucumber,

strawberry and tomato had the highest frequencies of both in-
secticides and fungicides. These findings contrasted with those
of Ozowicka et al., [51] who discovered that fungicides were
used four times as frequently as insecticides, and were gener-
ally consistent with finding of Gad Alla et al., [52] . In addi-
tion, Figure 2 lists the nineteen (19) pesticides that were found
most frequently in Egyptian vegetables examined in 2020, listed
in order of frequency percentages: Chlorpyrifos (8.3%), Cap-
tan (6.5%), Acetamiprid (6.0%), Lambda-Cyhalothrin (5.1%),
Methoxyfenozide (5.1%), Azoxystrobin (4.6%), Difenoconazole
(4.6%), Bifenazate (4.1%), Indoxacarb (4.1%), Boscalid (3.7%),
Chlorfenapyr (3.7%), Metalaxyl (3.7%), Abamectin (3.2%), Flu-
opyram (3.2%), Thiophanate.mathyle (2.8%), Trifloxystrobin (2.8
%), Penconazole (2.3%), Propargite (2.3%) and Fenarimol (2.3%),
in addition to 23 other pesticides (11 insecticides, 9 fungicides,
2 acaricides and 1 herbicide) with a frequently number of 1-4
with a percentage < 2% (Table 6). This may indicate a more
intense use of insecticides than fungicides, which is inconsistent
with pest control behavior in fruit and vegetable, due to fungal
diseases that are expected to infect fruits.. However, the usage of
numerous types and vast quantities of pesticides caused insects
to become resistant, which led to the need of more pesticides
overall.

Detected pesticides groups
The detected pesticides could be categorized into a variety

of groups, as shown by Table 6 and Figure 4, with the most fre-
quent groups being organophosphorus OPs, followed by DMI-
fungicide, Strobilurin, Neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, Pyridine car-
boxamides, Phthalimides, and Diacylhydrazines, with frequen-
cies percentages of 12.44%, 9.68%, 9.22%, 7.37%, 7.3 The most
often identified pesticide class in Egyptian vegetables in 2020
was OP’s (12.44%), which has been the case for a number of
years. The majority of OPs were found in vegetable samples
from 2011 that were previously collected (41.5%; Sohair et al.,
[29]); they were also found in fruit samples from 2007 that were
previously collected (29.4%; Gadallah et al., [52] ) and they are
widely utilized in Egypt. The effectiveness and low cost may be
the causes of the product’s prolonged use in Egyptian markets,
and farmers find it difficult to change their usage patterns. Con-
cerns are raised by a review conducted by Roshini et al., [53]
that exposure to OP pesticides at levels currently regarded as ac-
ceptable may have had a negative impact on human reproductive
function and survival. Contrarily, OPs are hazardous to the ner-
vous system and have been substantially eliminated from agricul-
ture in several nations during the past ten years [52]. However,
they are not outlawed and continue to be used on some food
crops, according to the EWG’s 2012 list of the "Dirty Dozen" en-
docrine disruptor pesticides (The-dirty-dozen-eco-group, 2012).
Fungicides containing strobilurin have been used extensively in
agricultural fields for many years. The FRAC group 11 fungi-
cides known as strobilurin or QoI are very effective at control-
ling a variety of common vegetable diseases [54] . Stabilurins’

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 6. The detected pesticide frequencies in analyzed Egyptian vegetable and

fruit samples, 2020.

SN Substance classified* Chemical Name Type Freq. No

1

Organophosphate

Chlorpyrifos Ins. 18

2 Dimethoate Ins. 4

3 Malathion Ins. 2

4 Methamidophos Ins. 3

5

Pyrethroid

Cyfluthrin Ins. 1

6 Cypermethrin Ins. 2

7 Fenpropathrin Ins. 2

8 L-Cyhalothrin Ins. 11

9

DMI**

Cyproconazole Herb. 1

10 Difenoconazole Fung. 10

11 Flutazole Fung. 1

12 Flutriafol Fung. 1

13 Penconazole Fung. 5

14 Propiconazole Fung. 2

15 Tetraconazole Fung. 1

16

Strobilurin

Azoxystrobin Fung. 10

17 Pyraclostrobin Fung. 4

18 Trifloxystrobin Fung. 6

19
Pyridinecarboxamides

Boscalid Fung. 8

20 Fluopyram Fung. 7

21
Neonicotinoids

Acetamiprid Ins. 13

22 Imidacloprid Ins. 3

23
Benzimidazole

Carbendazim Fung. 2

24 Thiophanate.M Fung. 6

25 Carbamates Pirimicarb Ins. 1

26
Growth regulator

Paclobuttazol Fung. 1

27 Buprofezin Ins. 1

28 Avermectins Abamectin Ins. 7

29 Acramite Bifenazate Acar, 9

30 Anilinopyrimidines Pyrimethanil Fung. 3

31 Arylepyrrole Chlorfenapyr Mite 8

32 Diacylhydrazines Methoxyfenozide Ins. 11

33 Diamides Chlorantraniliprole Ins. 1

34 Dicarboximides Iprodion Fung. 2

35 Imidazole Bifenazole Acar. 3

36 Oxadiazine pesticide Indoxacarb (p) Ins. 9

37 Phenylamide :acrylalanin Metalaxyl Fung. 8

38 Phthalimides Captan Fung. 14

39 Pyrimidines Fenarimol Fung. 5

40 Spinosyns Spinetoram Ins. 4

41 Sulfite ester Propargite Acar. 5

42 Tetronic acids Spirodiclofen Acar. 2

Total 217

*-Types; Acar, Acarecides-Ins, insecticide- Fung, fungicide -Herb, herbicide,

-Substance classified is referred to: PAN pesticide database, - Freq; The total

number of frequencies for the positive samples of all vegetable under study,

**DMI: Demethylation Inhibitors

unique, non-target-specific fungicidal activity. Previously, stro-
bilurins were thought to be less hazardous to mammals [55], but
a number of authors have noted that this is not entirely true
due to gaps in the toxicological endpoints of fungicides [56].
These pesticides are intended to control fungi, but because of
their broad-spectrum method of action, they can also have unin-
tended consequences. Therefore, Strobilurin toxicity may result
in ecosystem imbalance and food-web disturbance.

The development of synthetic pyrethroids involved exten-
sive chemical modifications that made them more toxic and less
biodegradable in the environment [57; 58]. Despite this, pyrethroids
still have negative effects because they can lead to endocrine
disruption, liver function impairment, and respiratory problems
when exposed to them over an extended period of time.

Figure 4. The most detected pesticides groups in vegetable samples analysed
during 2020.

Health risk assessment
Because of the potentially harmful effects, dietary exposure

to pesticides raises health concerns. Food quality and safety
must be ensured in order to reduce the increased health risks
associated with eating foods that contain pesticide residues. In
order to reduce the presence of and exposure to pesticide residue,
especially non-authorized pesticides, monitoring programs for
the detection of pesticide residues in food should give enhanced
health risk estimations for hygienic activities. Table 0.4.3 clari-
fies approved daily intake (ADI) and estimated daily intake (EDI)
for pesticides. Strawberry, pepper, and cucumber had the lowest
absolute intakes from ingesting the commodity, with 0.47, 0.159,
and 0.096 g/kg b.w/day, respectively. Tomato had the highest
absolute intakes, with 2.89 g/kg BW/day (Table 0.4.3 ). Once
more, to evaluate chronic exposure, the amount of pesticide ex-
posure throughout a lifetime and any potential health impacts of

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 7. Pesticide estimated daily intake (EDI), acceptable daily intake (ADI)

and hazard index (HI%).

C
om

m
odity

E
stim

ated
dietary

intake
(1E

D
I,(g
/kg

b.w
/day)

2A
D

I
H

I
Pesticide

Straw
berry

Tom
ato

Pepper
C

ucum
ber

Total
(g
/kg

B
W
/day)

(source;year)
B

ifenazate
0.028

0.315
-

-
0.342

10
JM

PR
-2006

&
E

FSA
-2017

3.424
Fluopyram

0.079
0.502

0.009
0.007

0.596
10

JM
PR

-2010
5.956

D
im

ethoate
-

0.033
0.007

-
0.040

2
JM

PR
-1995

1.997
A

bam
ectin

-
0.02

-
0.004

0.023
1

JM
PR

-2015
2.327

T
hiophanate.m

athyle
0.018

1.121
-

-
1.139

30
JM

PR
-2013

3.796
D

ifenoconazole
0.01

0.01
-

0
0.020

10
JM

PR
-2007,2010,2013

0.205
C

hlorpyrifos
0.002

0.07
0.007

0.003
0.082

10
JM

PR
-2009

0.819
C

yperm
ethrin

-
-

-
0.018

0.018
5

E
FSA

,2018
0.362

Propargite
0.022

-
-

-
0.022

10
JM

PR
-1999

0.222
B

oscalid
0.014

0.039
-

-
0.054

40
JM

PR
-2006

0.134
Indoxacarb

0.008
0.043

-
-

0.051
10

JM
PR

-2005
0.507

O
thers

0.29
0.738

0.136
0.064

1.226
3.6606

1E
D

I:E
stim

ated
daily

intake
based

on
vegetable

consum
ption

data
show

n
in

Table
a.

A
D

I:A
cceptable

daily
intake,H

I:H
azard

index
=

(E
D

I/A
D

I*100)
JM

PR
is

the
JointFA

O
/W

H
O

M
eetings

on
Pesticide

R
esidues

and
E

FSA
is

E
uropean

Food
Safety

A
uthority.

**taking
into

consideration
thatin

the
absence

ofA
D

I,the
value

of10
g
/kg

B
W
/day

is
usually

setby
default

such exposure must be taken into account [29]. This assessment
method, which was carefully developed, considers average expo-
sure levels in relation to the ADI values determined for specific
pesticides. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for each pesticide
was det independently in an exposure assessment. If consumers
are exposed to chronic hazardous pesticide residues, their health
won’t be at risk unless they consume more food than the ADI
each day for a long time.

Hazard index
According to data in Table 8, the hazard index (HI) for con-

taminated strawberry samples ranged from 0.0001% for Chlo-
rantraniliprole to 0.785% of the ADI for fluopyram, while its
values ranged from 0.015% for Azoxystrobin to 5.015% for flu-
opyram in tomato samples, ranged from 0.0013% (Metalaxyl) to
0.479% (Fenarimol) in pepper samples, but ranged from 0.0003
to 0. The data from the risk assessment of pesticide residues in
the tested commodities show that there is no risk associated with
eating these vegetable. These findings are consistent with those
made by Akoto et al., [33] , who stated that when the HI value

is less than 100%, the concerned commodity is regarded accept-
able. If the HI value is larger than 100%, the concerned food
is considered to pose a risk to consumers. According to recent
statistics, Fluopyram has a tomato HI value of 5.015 percent,
which was the highest. Due to the HI values, all tested pesticides
had no individual potential health harm because the EDI did not
exceed (below the cut-off limit of 100). According to Hossain et
al., [59] , pesticide exposure in vegetables has minimal effects
on consumers both individually and collectively, although it is
possible that eating raw foods like cucumbers that haven’t been
washed could increase the risk of pesticide exposure.

Additionally, Seo et al., [60] revealed that the danger of ex-
posure to pesticide residues found in dried vegetables gathered
from Seoul, Korea, was minimal. The current findings demon-
strated that there is no link between Egyptian consumers’ long-
term exposure to pesticide residues from eating raw vegetable
and health risks. It should be noted that the current study is
restricted to a select few vegetable. Furthermore, rather than as-
sessing the cumulative exposure to several pesticide residues in
crops, the predicted risk assessment via long-term exposure is
based on toxicological evaluation of the individual chemicals.

Contributed pesticides in total hazard index
In order of contribution percentages (via consumption of a

single commodity) in the analyzed Egyptian vegetables during
2020, Figure 5 lists the 13 high contributed pesticides, which
include eight insecticides, one acaricide, and four fungicides. In
order of decreasing contribution to the HI, the following pesti-
cides were used: Fluopyram (25.4%), thiophanate-mathyle (16.2%),
Bifenazate (14.6%), Abamectin (9.9%), Dimethoate (8.5%), Chlor-
pyrifos (3.5%), Methamidophos (2.8%), Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(2.6%), Captan (2.2%), Indoxacarb (2.2%), and Fenarimol (2.0%),
Cypermethrin (1.5%) and Buprofezin (1.3%) in descending or-
der, while each of the remaining 29 pesticides contributed less
than 1% of the HI.

Figure 5. The most contributed pesticides in total hazard index (HI%).

Contributed commodities in total hazard index
The calculated contributions of each commodity to the HIs

are shown in Figure 6, along with the commodities that make

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

Table 8. The estimated intake (EDI) and the hazard index (HI) of pesticide
residues in Egyptian vegetable samples.

Pesticides detected
Strawberry Tomato Pepper Cucumber

EDI HI EDI HI EDI HI EDI HI

Abamectin - - 0.02 1.97 - - 0.0036 0.361

Acetamiprid 0.013 0.019 0.02 0.03 - - 0.0118 0.017

Azoxystrobin 0.018 0.009 0.03 0.02 - - - -

Bifenazate 0.028 0.278 0.31 3.15 - - - -

Bifenazole 0.005 0.054 - - - - - -

Boscalid 0.014 0.036 0.04 0.1 - - - -

Buprofezin 0.027 0.3 - - - - - -

Captan 0.044 0.044 0.45 0.45 - - 0.0204 0.02

Carbendazim 0.015 0.05 - - - - - -

Chlorantraniliprole 0.002 0.0001 - - - - - -

Chlorfenapyr - - 0.04 0.15 0.002 0.01 - -

Chlorpyrifos 0.002 0.017 0.07 0.7 0.007 0.07 0.0031 0.031

Cyfluthrin - - 0.01 0.02 - - - -

Cypermethrin - - - - - - 0.0181 0.362

Cyproconazole 0.006 0.028 - - - - - -

Difenoconazole 0.01 0.102 0.01 0.1 - - 0.0005 0.005

Dimethoate - - 0.03 1.67 0.007 0.33 - -

Fenarimol - - - - 0.048 0.48 - -

Fenpropathrin - - - - 0.001 0.003 0.003 0.01

Fluopyram 0.079 0.785 0.5 5.02 0.009 0.09 0.0069 0.069

Flutazole 0.002 0.017 - - - - - -

Flutriafol 0.007 0.07 - - - - - -

Imidacloprid 0.002 0.003 - - 0.02 0.03 - -

Indoxacarb (p) 0.008 0.081 0.04 0.43 - - - -

Iprodion 0.004 0.007 - - - - - -

Lambda-Cyhalothrin 0.002 0.008 0.12 0.59 - - 0.0033 0.017

Malathion - - - - 0.043 0.01 0.001 0.0003

Metalaxyl 0.011 0.014 - - 0.001 0.00125 0.0223 0.028

Methamidophos 0.026 0.65 - - - - - -

Methoxyfenozide 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.05 0.013 0.01 - -

Paclobuttazol 0.002 0.008 - - - - - -

Penconazole 0.006 0.02 - - - - 0.002 0.007

Pirimicarb 0.037 0.183 - - - - - -

Propargite 0.022 0.222 - - - - - -

Propiconazole 0.009 0.013 - - - - - -

Pyraclostrobin 0.007 0.024 - - - - - -

Pyrimethanil 0.016 0.008 - - - - - -

Spinetoram - - - - 0.008 0.02 - -

Spirodiclofen 0.004 0.043 - - - - - -

Tetraconazole 0.002 0.042 - - - - - -

Thiophanate.mathyle 0.018 0.059 1.12 3.74 - - - -

Trifloxystrobin - - 0.02 0.05 - - - -

EDI: Estimated daily intake, ADI: Acceptable daily intake, HI: Hazard index

= (EDI/ADI*100) JMPR is the Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues

and EFSA is European Food Safety Authority.**taking into consideration

that in the absence of ADI, the value of 10 g /kg BW/day is usually set by default

up the majority of those contributions. Tomatoes were the com-
modities that contributed the greatest to hazard (HI). As a result,
they posed some risks to consumers and had exposures that were
above acceptable limits, but generally, home processing methods
including washing, heating, and frying may lower the levels of
residues in vegetables.

Figure 6. The most contributed commodities in total hazard index (HI %).

Conclusion
With the exception of levels of several insecticides, such

as Lambada-cyhalothrin (tomato), Methamidophos (strawberry),
and Malathion (pepper), most pesticide residues were present in
the most frequently consumed foods at below detectable levels,
and those present above detection levels were in trace amounts.
Generally speaking, coordinated efforts are required to improve
food quality and safety as well as to manage pesticide residues
in both the environment and humans. The presence of prohibited
pesticides in local markets needs to be addressed by the govern-
ment authorities. Implementing IPM programs correctly within
the GAP framework, creating new pesticide application meth-
ods, and shifting toward the production of organic foods will
all assist sustainable development. Further studies should be
conducted to provide further evidence on the long-term health
effects of pesticide exposure through diet.

Abbreviations

ADI: Acceptable daily intake
BW: Body weight
CCCF: Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods

CIFOCOss:
Chronic Individual Food Consumption Database
Summary statistics

EFSA: European Food Safety Authority

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Abuo El-kasem et al., 2023 Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables selected from different Egyptian governorates

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
GC: Gas chromatography

GEMS/Food:
Global Environment Monitoring System
Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment
Programme

IPCS: International Programme on Chemical Safety
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
IUPAC: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
JECFA: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
JECFA: Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
JMPR:: Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues
LOD: limit of detection
LOQ: limit of quantification
MS: Mass spectrometry
MS/MS: Tandem mass spectrometry
QuEChERS: Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe
USA: United States of America
WHO: World Health Organization

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	Abstract
	Introduction
	Material and methods
	Samples
	Sample preparation and analysis
	Calculation of ADI and HI

	Results and Discussion
	Pesticide frequencies (Detected pesticides type)
	Detected pesticides groups
	Health risk assessment
	Hazard index
	Contributed pesticides in total hazard index
	Contributed commodities in total hazard index
	Conclusion

	Abbreviations

