Analysis of pesticide residues in tomatoes from the tomato field and markets of KPK, Pakistan and their potential risk to human health
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The study was designed to get a real time picture of pesticide residues in tomato samples from the fields of two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the markets of Islamabad, Pakistan. A citrate buffered QuEChERS method was validated for forty-nine multiclass pesticides belonging to carbamates, neonicotinoids, organophosphates, pyrethroids, triazines and triazoles on LC-MS/MS. The method’s limits of detection and the quantification with the validated method ranged from 0.001 to 0.01 mg/kg and 0.01 to 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. Fifty one samples were analyzed with the validated method, and 58.8% (n= 30) of the analyzed samples were found contaminated. Out of these contaminated samples, 83.3% (n- 25) were field samples, and 16.7% (n= 5) were market samples. Four (7.8%) field samples were found non-compliant with the European Union’s Maximum Residue Limits (EU-MRLs). The frequently detected pesticides were imidacloprid and tebuconazole. Thiamethoxam, tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl, and chlorpyrifos, were the pesticides that exceeded the EU-MRLs. The residues of detected pesticides were found to pose a very low health risk to consumers. • Investigation of pesticide residues in tomato samples from tomato fields in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad markets. • Verification of the EU-citrate buffered QuEChERS protocol for the analysis of forty-nine multiclass pesticides by LC-MS/MS. • High pesticide residue contamination index of 83% in tomato field samples with fourteen multiclass pesticides • A consumer health risk for detected pesticides in tomato calculated as per FAO regulations was found very low.
Source: Toxicology Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,530
Funder: CAB International
OpenAlex ID: W4410735745