Long-term investigation and health risk assessment of multi-class fungicide residues in fruits

Abstract

Fungicides are chemicals designed against fungi that are widely used in protection of fruits all over the world, for better quality and safety. These chemicals have been intensively used to protect Polish fruits for many years. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the fungicide residues monitored by chromatography and spectrophotometry in fruits in 2005-14 and health risk assessment. Fruits (974 samples) were analyzed for the presence of over 70 fungicides. Currants (68.5% of samples), apples (63.3%), and cherries (54.6%) were the fruits with residues found most frequently. Dithiocarbamates (27.4%) and captan (26.3%) were the most often detected. The highest concentrations were noted for boscalid and captan, ranging from 2.83 mg/kg (cherry) to 3.31 mg/kg (currant). The risk assessments involving hazards for human health were performed because of fungicide toxicity. The results of this investigation show how important it is to control fungicide residues in fruit, which require frequent chemical treatment for fungal diseases, to guarantee food quality and safety.