Contamination of Foods from Cameroon with Residues of 20 Halogenated Pesticides, and Health Risk of Adult Human Dietary Exposure

Abstract

(1) Background: Halogenated pesticides are abundantly used in Cameroon, but there is no information on the health risk of consumers from exposure to their residues in foods. (2) Methods: Residues of 20 halogenated pesticides were determined in 11 agricultural products collected in the 3 largest cities of Cameroon using QuEChERS extraction and gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and health risk from dietary exposure was assessed. (3) Results: Organochlorines pesticides aldrin, p,p’-dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) found in 85.0%, 81.9% and 72.5% of samples, respectively, were the most frequently detected. The highest average concentrations of residues were 1.12, 0.74 and 0.39 mg/kg for methoxychlor, alachlor and β-HCH, respectively, found in chilli pepper. Chili pepper (58.9%), cowpea (56.8%), black beans (56.5%) and kidney beans (54.0%) exhibited the highest residue occurrences. Levels above the European Union maximum residue limits (MRLs) were found for all the 20 pesticides, in 40.1% of the positive analyses, and the food samples contained 14 pesticides banned in Cameroon. Chronic, acute, cumulative and carcinogenic risk assessments revealed that lifetime consumption of maize, black beans, kidney beans, groundnuts and chili pepper contaminated with aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, HCB, heptachlor, o,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD, p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDE and β-HCH, could pose health risks. (4) Conclusion: These results show that there is an urgent need of pesticide usage regulation, effective application of pesticide bans and management of obsolete pesticide stocks in Cameroon.

Potassium bromate in bread, health risks to bread consumers and toxicity symptoms amongst bakers in Bamenda, North West Region of Cameroon

“…The daily intake of potassium bromate depends on the potassium bromate concentration in bread, the daily bread consumption, and the average body weight of adults, which influences the tolerance of contaminants. Based on these assumptions, EDI was calculated as follows [ 5 , 26 ]; …”

Sustainable Water Monitoring via Analytical Techniques and Protocols Applied in the Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticides

“…Despite OCPs being banned for many years, they are still found in various products and environments: water [1,6,14,16,29,[36][37][38][39]45,[48][49][50]62,70,75,78,87], soil [92,[94][95][96], vegetables [97,98], meat [99,100], dairy products [101], and honey-bees [102]. This is related to their long life and insolubility in water.…”

Growth, late blight and yield response of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation in West region of Cameroon

“…Intensive use of synthetic pesticides is admittedly effective and has led to a significant increase in yield, to the limitation of yield losses linked to pests, and to the protection of foodstuffs. However, they are increasingly being questioned for several reasons, particularly their toxicity on non-target organisms (birds, fish, pollinators, and humans), the development of resistance to pests and pathogens which causes them to lose their efficiency, and pollution of the environment (air, soil, water) by residues (Galani et al, 2021). Therefore, legislative and regulatory measures have been put in place regulating their use and considering the development of alternatives.…”