Pesticide Residues in Commonly Consumed Fruits and Vegetables in Jordan and Their Associated Health Risk Assessments

A total of 125 samples of commonly consumed fruits and vegetables were collected from different local markets in Jordan during 2016. The collected samples included: apples, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes and cucumbers. All samples were subjected to multi-residue analysis for 17 pesticides including different types of pesticides, such as: organochlorine, organophosphorus, bromopropylate and permethrin. Pesticide residues were determined by gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector. The compliance of the detected residues with the international maximum residue limits was evaluated. The estimated average dietary intake for the examined pesticides in fruits and vegetables was calculated and health risk was assessed for each pesticide by calculating the value of hazard risk index. The data revealed that 40.5% of the investigated fruit and vegetable samples contained residues of the monitored pesticides that exceeded the maximum residue limit values. Cucumber was found to be the most contaminated commodity, with an average pesticide residue of 3.32 mg/kg in all the samples. Health risk assessment indicates that endrin, heptachlor, heptachlorepoxide, dieldrin and aldrin had potential health risk, since their health risk indices exceeded the acceptable limits by several orders of magnitude, while the levels of the rest of pesticides showed no risk to consumer health.