Probabilistic risk assessment of exposure to multiple metals and pesticides through consumption of fruit juice samples collected from Iranian market

Seyedeh Faezeh Taghizadeh; Gholamreza Karimi; Manolis Tzatzarakis; Ioannis Tsakiris; Hamid Ahmadpourmir; Majid Azizi; Asma Afshari; Vahideh Ghorani; Fatemeh Yarmohammadi; Aristidis Tsatsakis; Ramin Rezaee

doi:10.1016/j.fct.2022.113493

Probabilistic risk assessment of exposure to multiple metals and pesticides through consumption of fruit juice samples collected from Iranian market

Food Chem Toxicol. 2022 Dec:170:113493. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113493. Epub 2022 Oct 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
² Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Laboratory of Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
⁴ Agriculture Department, School of Agriculture, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece.
⁵ Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
⁶ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁷ Clinical Research Development Unit, Imam Reza Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁸ Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁹ Laboratory of Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Electronic address: tsatsaka@uoc.gr.
¹⁰ International UNESCO Center for Health-Related Basic Sciences and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Electronic address: raminrezaee1983@gmail.com.

PMID: 36326503
DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113493

Abstract

The current study assessed the risk posed to Iranian consumers by oral exposure to a mixture of 20 pesticides and six metals in 96 fruit juice (FJ) samples (3 batches × 4 brands × 8 types of FJs) collected from Iran market. Concentrations of metals and pesticides in FJs were quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. The mean concentration of all pesticides was below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by the European Union (EU). The calculated target hazard quotients (THQs) and total hazard index (HI) were <1.0 for all pesticides residue, indicating no risk. For the carcinogenic metals (As, Ni, and Pb), estimated incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) at the 50th and 95th centiles were respectively 4.25 × 10^-5 and 5.30 × 10^-5 (for As), 2.85 × 10^-5 and 3.71 × 10^-5 (for Ni), and 2.84 × 10^-8, and 3.97 × 10^-8 (for Pb), indicating no risk. At the 50th and 95th centiles, HI for non-carcinogenic metals (Cd, Hg, and Cr) was <1.0, indicating no risk. Based on sensitivity analyses of the input variables, the concentration of metals and pesticides, and the FJs ingestion rate had significant influential impacts on the calculated THQ and HI.

Keywords: Food processing; Oral exposure; Pesticides; Soft beverage; Toxic element.

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Fruit and Vegetable Juices / analysis
Iran
Lead / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / toxicity
Pesticides* / analysis
Pesticides* / toxicity
Risk Assessment

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Pesticides
Lead