Effectiveness of Different Washing Strategies on Pesticide Residue Removal: The First Comparative Study on Leafy Vegetables.

Leafy vegetables are used in various cuisines worldwide; however, as they cannot be peeled and their leaf surface area is large, the risk of retaining pesticide residues on these vegetables is relatively higher than on others. To our knowledge, this is the first comparative study to reveal the effect of removing pesticide residues from five artificially contaminated leafy vegetables (lettuce, perilla leaves, spinach, crown daisy, and ssamchoo (Brassica lee ssp. namai)) using different removal methods. The percent reduction range for each method was 43.7−77.0%, and the reduction range for the five leafy vegetables was 40.6−67.4%. Lettuce had the highest reduction (67.4 ± 7.3%), whereas ssamchoo had the lowest reduction (40.6 ± 12.9%). Spinach and crown daisy showed no significant difference in their reductions. Based on reduction by method, running water (77.0 ± 18.0%) and boiling (59.5 ± 31.2%) led to the highest reduction, whereas detergent (43.7 ± 14.5%) led to the lowest reduction. The reductions of chlorfenapyr, diniconazole, indoxacarb, fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, and lufenuron in the leafy vegetables were lower with blanching and boiling than with other methods (p < 0.05). These results highlight the importance of thoroughly washing leafy vegetables to lower the intake of pesticide residues before cooking.

Pesticide Residues and Risk Assessment from Monitoring Programs in the Largest Production Area of Leafy Vegetables in South Korea: A 15-Year Study.

Leafy vegetables are widely consumed in South Korea, especially in the form of kimchi and namul (seasoned vegetables) and are used for wrapping meat. Therefore, the management of pesticide residues in leafy vegetables is very important. A total of 17,977 samples (49 leafy vegetables) were mainly collected in the largest production area of leafy vegetables (Gwangju Metropolitan City and Chonnam Province) in South Korea. They were analyzed within the government's monitoring programs (Gwangju Metropolitan City) of pesticide residues between 2005 and 2019. Pesticide residues were found in 2815 samples (15.7%), and 426 samples (2.4%) from among these exceeded the specified maximum residue limits (MRLs). Samples exceeding the MRLs were mostly detected in spinach, ssamchoo (brassica lee ssp. namai), crown daisy, lettuce, and perilla leaves. Azoxystrobin, dimethomorph, and procymidone were the most frequently detected pesticides. However, procymidone, diniconazole, and lufenuron were found to most frequently exceed the MRLs. The rate of MRLs exceeding has been managed below the average (2.4%) more recently than in the past in this area. Further, leafy vegetables with the most violations of the MRLs in our study in South Korea were not harmful to health by a risk assessment (the range of the hazard index was 0.001-7.6%).

Simultaneous determination of plant growth regulator and pesticides in bean sprouts by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A simple and sensitive analytical method based on QuEChERS approach using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated for the determination of 6-benzylaminopurine, carbendazim and thiabendazole in bean sprouts. Sodium chloride and sodium acetate were used for salting-out step and magnesium sulfate for clean-up. The validation of optimized method was satisfactory with recoveries, between 89.5% and 103.2% for the three compounds, and relative standard deviation (RSD) values less than 3.3% at 20 and 40ng/g fortification levels (n=5). Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) was 2.1-3.7ng/g and 6.3-11.1ng/g, respectively. Monitoring of 126 bean sprout samples collected from local markets was performed to verify the adaptability in real samples. No pesticides were detected but 6-benzylaminopurine was found in 3 samples at the level of 15-20ng/g. The optimized method should be applicable for monitoring of 6-benzylaminopurine, carbendazim and thiabendazole in bean sprouts in short time.

Pesticide residues in leafy vegetables, stalk and stem vegetables from South Korea: a long-term study on safety and health risk assessment.

South Korea has a unique food culture. South Koreans enjoy wrapping meat and eating or making kimchi (traditionally fermented Korean food) and eating using raw leafy vegetables, stalk and stem vegetables. Therefore, there is a high chance of being exposed to pesticide residues of vegetables. The objective of this study was to investigate pesticide residues in leafy vegetables, stalk and stem vegetables from South Korea. A total of 8496 samples were mainly collected from Gwangju and Jeonnam area (the largest production region of leafy vegetables, stalk and stem vegetables) in South Korea from 2010 to 2014. A total of 230 pesticides were used for multi-residue analysis of pesticides. Among 8496 samples, 61 different pesticides (1029 times) were detected in 890 samples, of which 118 samples (1.4%) exceeded the Korea maximum residue limits (MRLs). Samples exceeding the MRLs were mostly found in leafy vegetables (brassica lee ssp. namai, leafy lettuce, spinach, perilla leaves, crown daisy, marsh mallow, aster scaber, pimpinella brachycarpa) and Chinese chive. Procymidone, dimethomorph and azoxystrobin were the most frequently found pesticides. A risk assessment of pesticides exceeding the MRLs was evaluated by calculating the estimated daily intake (EDI) and the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The ratio of EDI to ADI was 0.003-30.4%.