Monitoring of Multiple Pesticide Residues in Dates and their Associated Health Risks for Egyptian Consumer

Mohamed, Shaimaa. M. S.; Abdel-Mgeed, Mohamed I; Mohamed, Khaled A; El -sayed, Walaa

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.403529.12033

Monitoring of Multiple Pesticide Residues in Dates and their Associated Health Risks for Egyptian Consumer

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ 11241 hadayiq shobra

² Professor of pesticide analysis and toxicology, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

³ Professor of pesticide chemistry and toxicology, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejchem.2025.403529.12033

Abstract

A market basket survey was executed to monitor a total of 466 pesticide residues in 88 fresh date samples gathered from different regional markets of Cairo and Giza governorates of Egypt during 2020 to 2021. Data indicate the detection of various amounts and types of pesticide residues which belong to different chemical and functional groups and vary according to the sampling location. In general, the mean levels of pesticide residues measured in the targeted date samples collected from Cairo and Giza markets ranged from 0.01–0.443 and 0.01–0.419 mg kg⁻¹, correspondingly. Data indicated that the detection of pesticide residues in Cairo and Giza samples was at greater levels than the MRL and represented frequency percentages ranging from 2.13–12.77% and 2.13–12.77%, respectively. The lowest percentages of acute risk (%ARfD) and chronic risk (%ADI) were recorded with all detected pesticides in date samples, varying between 0.01–21 and 0.06–20% (Cairo) and from 0.01–6 and 0.02–25% (Giza), respectively. Data also indicated that all detected pesticide residues in/on dates were individually non-hazardous to health, as their %ARfD values and %ADI values were under one hundred percent (100%). As for the estimated daily intake (EDI) of pesticide residues by adult consumers, data indicated that the intakes of some pesticide residues in dates from the surveyed areas were within the ADI permissible level. Therefore, all identified pesticides were considered to pose no conceivable health risk (HR) and/or hazard associated with human consumption of dates from the targeted markets in the two governorates.

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