Determination, Quality, and Health Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Kumquat in China

Abstract

Pesticide residues in kumquat fruits from China, and the quality and chronic/acute intake risks in Chinese consumers, were assessed using the QuEChERS procedure and UHPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS methods. Our 5-year monitoring and survey showed 90% of the 573 samples of kumquat fruits collected from two main production areas contained one or multiple residual pesticides. Overall, 30 pesticides were detected, including 16 insecticides, 7 fungicides, 5 acaricides, and 2 plant growth modulators, of which 2 pesticides were already banned. Two or more residual pesticides were discovered in 81% of the samples, and pesticide residues in 9.4% of the samples surpassed the MRLs, such as profenofos, bifenthrin, triazophos, avermectin, spirodiclofen, difenoconazole, and methidathion. The major risk factors on the safety of kumquat fruits before 2019 were profenofos, bifenthrin, and triazophos, but their over-standard frequencies significantly declined after 2019, which was credited to the stricter supervision and management policies by local governments. Despite the high detection rates and multi-residue occurrence of pesticides in kumquat fruits, about 81% of the samples were assessed as qualified. Moreover, the accumulative chronic diet risk determined from ADI is very low. To better protect the health of customers, we shall formulate stricter organic phosphorus pesticide control measures and stricter use guidelines, especially for methidathion, triazophos, chlorpyrifos, and profenofos. This study provides potential data for the design of kumquat fruit quality and safety control guidelines and for the reduction in health risks to humans.