Health risks due to consumption of pesticides in ready-to-eat vegetables (salads) in Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Pesticide residue levels were determined in ready-to-eat vegetables collected from 16 sites along the food chain; which is, farms, markets, cafeterias and street food vending sites in Kumasi, Ghana. The aim of the study was to determine the concentrations of pesticides residues in two ready-to-eat vegetables and assess the health risks due to consumption of these contaminated vegetables. Methods: Pesticide residues in ready-to-eat vegetables or salads were extracted by means of the QuEChERS method. Synthetic pyrethroid and organophosphorus pesticides residues in samples were determined using Gas Chromatography with Electron Capture Detector and Pulsed Flame Photometric Detector respectively. Consumption data of ready-to-eat vegetables were obtained from a questionnaire-based dietary survey in the study area. The hazard index and the relative potency factor (RPFs) approaches were used to assess the health risk from chronic cumulative dietary exposure to pesticides. Results: There were six synthetic pyrethroid residues detected in the ready-to-eat samples at varying concentrations. They were bifenthrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and fenvalerate. Also, two organophosphates were detected in the samples; which were chlorpyrifos and diazinon. Lambda-cyhalothrin residues was present in all the samples in the study, with the mean concentration of 4.5 × 10 −2 mgkg −1 . The mean concentration of diazinon in all the samples (0.040 mgkg −1 ) exceeded the EU MRLs (0.01 mgkg −1 ), chlopyrifos exceeded its MRL in one sample from the street food vending site and cafeteria each. Deltamethrin, Fenvalerate and Permethrin exceeded their respective MRL in samples from Asafo (Street food vending sites) and Adum (Cafeteria) and KNUST (Farm) respectively. However, the health index of all pesticides residues detected were below the permissible limit. The cumulative intake from the RPF approach for the pesticides were relatively lower than the ADI of the index chemicals. Conclusion: The concentrations of chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, fenvalerate, diazinon and permethrin exceeded their respective EU MRLs in some ready-to-eat vegetable samples in the study. The health index and comparison of cumulative intake from RPF with ADI of the index chemicals suggest that pesticide residues in ready-to-eat vegetables could not be considered a major public health problem.

The Rapid Degradation of Lambda-Cyhalothrin Makes Treated Vegetables Relatively Safe for Consumption

“…On the contrary, Sæthre et al [ 2 ] showed that some specific families of vegetables such as Solanum marcrocarpon leaves (gboma) and tomatoes still accumulate pesticide residues at concentrations above standard MRL by the time they arrive at some market gates in Benin. In Ghana, Akomea-Frempong et al [ 42 ] reported the low presence of λ-cyhalothrin residue in all sampled lettuce from farms, markets, street foods, cafeterias, and restaurants in Kumasi; the residue concentrations were all bellow the MRL.…”

“…Nevertheless, the repetitive consumption of vegetables with low levels of λ-cyhalothrin residue could in the long term be associated to health risk [ 6 , 7 , 42 ].…”

Human Risk Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Vegetables from Kumasi, Ghana

“…Irresponsible use of pesticides may lead to the prevalence of pesticide residues in the environment and agriculture [12]. It is confirmed that pesticide residues exceeding a threshold pose a possible risk for consumers [12][13][14][15]. e toxic effects include acute neurological toxicity, disturbances in the immune and reproductive system, and several other diseases.…”

“…e toxic effects include acute neurological toxicity, disturbances in the immune and reproductive system, and several other diseases. Of the major classes of pesticides on the market, organochlorines have received a lot of attention from the scientific community due to their low cost, versatility against various pests, persistency, bioaccumulative nature, and potential toxicity to humans and to wildlife [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Because of their ability to bioaccumulate and often harm unintended species, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been outlawed in Ghana, with a switch to the less persistent organophosphorus and synthetic pyrethroids being favored [13,18,19].…”

Consumers awareness of the presence of pathogenic bacteria and pesticide residues on tomatoes sold in Nairobi

“…With this missing skill, respondents might not improve the culture of washing raw tomatoes to reduce more and more chemical residues before consumption in salad. This constitutes a gap to fill in order to increase consumers' awareness and see them starting using running tap water or its equivalent (Akomea-Frempong et al, 2017), detergent (Abou-Arab, 1999), sodium bicarbonate 10% and vinegar cleaner 10% (Graziela et al, 2015) to clean the crop before consumption. This might contribute to prevent human infection with chemical residues at the time when pesticide residues in vegetables are potential sources for systemic poisoning of consumers (Asiedu, 2013).…”