Pesticide residues and dietary risk assessment in radishes in Shandong

Pesticide residues in radishes can induce serious health hazards, especially in children and toddlers. In order to assess potential health risk from pesticide residues in radishes, a total of 26 pesticides were evaluated by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in 1690 samples, which were collected from the year 2016 to 2019 in Shandong Province of China. All the 26 pesticide residues were detected in 752 radish samples (44.50%), but only 221 samples (13.08%) contained detectable pesticide residues, which are above the maximum residue limits (MRLs). Multiple residues with two to nine pesticides were present in 5.09% (86 out of 1690) of samples. Hazard quotient (HQ) and the cumulative risk index were far below 100, while percentage value of acute reference dose (%ARfD) of triazophos exceeded 100 for adults, children, and toddlers. The %ARfD value for carbofuran, aldicarb, monocrotophos, and parathion was over 100 for toddlers. From the perspective of public health, the occurrence of pesticide residues in radishes could not pose a serious health risk problem, but the acute health risk should be paid more attention, especially to toddlers. It is recommended to make strict regulations on the management of pesticide residues and human health risk assessment about pesticide residues.