RISK ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES IN FOOD

This review presents methods for the assessment of acute and chronic risk from pesticide residues in food. Multiple pesticide residues can often be found in food. Currently, there is no internationally accepted procedure for the assessment of cumulative exposure to multiple pesticide residues in food. Therefore, risk assessment is based on toxicological evaluation of single compounds in a food matrix. The international estimation of short-term intake model (IESTI) has been used to calculate acute intake. IESTI is based on "the worst-case scenario" and addresses the possibility that consumers sometimes eat large amounts of a food item, and such a large amount might contain residues at highest levels. However, it should take into account uneven distribution of pesticide residues in food. Chronic exposure is based on a deterministic approach, analogous to the calculation of the theoretical maximum daily intake.