Pesticide Residues in Commercial Lettuce, Onion, and Potato Samples From Bolivia—A Threat to Public Health?

Abstract

Bolivia does not have a surveillance program for pesticide residues in food. The few published studies have suggested that pesticide contamination in food may present a public health problem. Data are lacking for all foods except tomatoes and breast milk. In this study 10 potato, 10 onion, and 10 lettuce samples from La Paz were sampled on August 15, 2015 at a local market and screened for 283 pesticides. Residues of cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, difenoconazol, or/and λ-cyhalothrin were detected in 50% of the lettuce samples, whereas no pesticides were found in potatoes and onions. In 20% of the lettuce samples, the measurements were above the maximum residue limits, and 2 or 3 pesticides were identified simultaneously. Washing almost halved the pesticide levels, but still 20% of the samples showed measurements above the limits. No samples contained concentrations of pesticides which alone or together would lead to exposures that exceeded the acceptable daily intake or the acute reference dose. To protect consumers from pesticide poisonings and chronic effects, the development of measures for prevention, control, and monitoring of food contamination by pesticides in Bolivia is suggested.

Pesticide residues in Junca Onion (Allium fistulosum) cultivated in Risaralda, Colombia

“…All analytes were determined in a single injection. This validation results are comparable with the reports by Skovgaard et al (2017), who implemented a GC-MS method for the analysis of pesticides in crop samples (lettuce, onion and potatoes), with a detection limit of 3 µg kg -1 , a limit of quantification of 10 µg kg -1 and a recovery between 70% and 120%. Guan et al, (2014) reported the validation of the LC-MS / MS method for the determination of pesticides in onion, garlic and leek, with a detection limit between 1 to 10 µg kg -1 and a recovery percentage between 70.1% and 109.7%.…”

Effect of Vegetal- and Seaweed Extract-Based Biostimulants on Agronomical and Leaf Quality Traits of Plastic Tunnel-Grown Baby Lettuce under Four Regimes of Nitrogen Fertilization

“…Baby leaf lettuce is widely cultivated in Italy under both open field and greenhouse conditions [1]. Baby leaf vegetables are characterized by a short cycle but it requires a correct agronomic management to avoid high levels of nitrate accumulation and pesticide residues in the final product [2]. Therefore, there is a paramount interest in enhancing its production and quality, and at the same time reducing the nitrate levels of leafy vegetables, in order to overcome the legal limit for the marketing imposed by the European Community (Reg.…”

Effect of Bacterial-algal Biostimulant on the Yield and Internal Quality of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Produced for Spring and Summer Crop

“…The effect of growing season on leafy lettuce yield and quality was more pronounced than the effect of nutrient solution composition (Fallovo et al, 2009). Additionally the proper mineral nutrition and chemical protection of lettuce is difficult because of short vegetation period and risk of high level of nitrate concentration and pesticide residues (Skovgaard et al, 2017).…”