Pesticide residues in food of plant origin commercialized in Brazil from 2010 to 2020 – An update from the two national monitoring programs

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the results of the two Brazilian national pesticide residue monitoring programs obtained from January 2010 to December 2020. A total of 35,321samples of 44 different food crops were analyzed, of which 55.3% tested positive for at least one compound, with pear, peach, strawberry and sweet pepper having over 90% of the analyzed samples containing residues. Approximately one-third of the positive samples had at least one irregularity, of which 86.7% due to the presence of non-authorized pesticides for the crop, 26.3% exceeding the maximum residue level, and 13.1% showing both irregularities. A total of 191 different compounds were detected, primarily organophosphorus (OP) (37.4% of positive samples, of which over 60% of cereal/flour, potatoes, and peanuts). Chlorpyrifos, acephate, pirimiphos-methyl, and methamidophos were the main OPs detected. Triazoles were present in 27.2% of the positive samples, mainly rice, and pyrethroids in 22.4% of the positive samples, mainly in popcorn. Dithiocarbamates were present in 19.7% of the positive samples, predominantly in apples, and 5.0% of the positive samples contained N-methyl carbamates, mainly in sweet peppers. Carbendazim was the most detected pesticide (30% of positive samples), mainly in papaya (18.2% of samples containing this pesticide). About 60% of positive samples contained multiple residues, primarily in sweet pepper, pear, strawberry, and orange (over 80% of positive samples). Compared to the previous decade (2001–2010), these results indicated increased percentages of positive, irregular and of samples containing multiple residues. Dithiocarbamates were no longer the most detected pesticide group, while carbendazim remained the most detected pesticide in both periods.