Much current concern exists regarding the potential health risks from dietary exposure to pesticides. A recent consumer attitude survey, e.g., revealed that 80% of U.S. shoppers consider pesticide residues to be a major concern (Opinion Research Corporation 1990). This concern is reflected in calls for legislative reform to provide additional consumer protection from residues.

Dietary pesticide risk assessment.

Carbofuran (2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranol-N-methylcarbamate) and carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate) are insecticides widely used in tea plantations. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the dissipation of carbofuran and carbaryl during the growth periods of Oolong tea, processing and roasting. Analysis of the residual insecticides was carried out using high-pressure liquid chromatography with a post-column fluorescence detector. Results showed that in the tea field carbofuran dissipated faster then carbaryl. Manufacturing processes of Oolong tea further reduced the carbofuran and carbaryl contents. The persistence of carbofuran and carbaryl was decreased with increasing roasting temperature. From the results, we conclude that the presence of carbofuran and carbaryl in tea can be reduced by proper field management, manufacturing and roasting processes.

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Dissipation of carbofuran and carbaryl on Oolong tea during tea bushes, manufacturing and roasting processes.

Total Diet Studies on pesticide residues in foods carried out in Italy in the last two decades are briefly summarized and data are discussed. Health risk assessment is expressed by the ratio total intake/ADI (%ADI ingested) for each compound and by the sum of the percentages of ADI for each compound within the same class of pesticides. The total dietary intake of chlorinated pesticides, that was almost 100% of ADI in the years 1970-74, decreased down to 10% in the period 1978-84. This trend was confirmed for DDT in recent years, while data on Lindane and Heptachlor seem to be constant. As regards the organophosphorus pesticides the sum of the percentages of ADI ingested for each compound, extrapolated from recent data (1990-1991) is about 20% and can be regarded as reasonably acceptable because the study included practically all the mainly used compounds. Only few data are available for some pesticides like dithiocarbamates, especially EBDCs and their derivatives (e.g. ETU), other carbamates (e.g...

Levels of pesticide residues in food : evaluation of data from total diet studies in Italy

Investigations on dietary intake of pesticide residues are particularly recommended by WHO (World Health Organization) in order to assess potential health risks from dietary exposure to pesticides. In Italy the oldest systematic studies regarded chlorinated pesticides and were carried out since 1970 (, Del Vecchio et ai. 1973a, Del Vecchio et al. 1973b, Del Vecchio and Leoni 1973, Leoni and D'Arca 1978, Leoni et ai. 1989). As the increase of the amount of organophosphorous insecticides used in agriculture in the last years and the scarcity of data about organophosphorou s dietary intake, the Italian Ministry of Health decided to sponsorize an investigation for the risk assessment of the organophosphorous pesticide dietary intake for the general Italian population. The work started in 1990, involving four Italian scientific structures operating in the North (Piacenza), in the Centre (Rome) and in the South (Naples and Catania). This paper describes the results of the monitoring program carried out in the area of Rome. Some preliminary results have been previously published (Amodio Cocchieri et al. 1993). The investigation consisted in the collection of a significant number of the relevant raw commodities, representative of the average diet for the general population and the determination of 30 selected organophosphorous insecticide residues levels in food. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) was calculated by multipling the average residue level in each food for the amount of the average consumption of that food and summing the intakes from all commodities positive for the residue of the pesticide concerned. Then EDI was compared with the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) to assessing the risk connected with the organophosphorous residue dietary intake. MATERIALS AND METHODS The organophosphorous insecticides were selected on the basis of the most used products in Italy: acephate, azinphos-ethyl and azinphosmethyl, bromophos, chlorfenvinphos E and chiorfenvinphos Z, chlorpiriphos and chlorpiriphos-me thyl, demeton, demeton-O and demeton-S-methyl -sulphone, diazinon, dimethoate, ethion, fenitrothion, heptenophos, malathion and malaoxon, methamidophos, methidathion, monocrotophos, omethoate, parathion and paraoxon,

Risk Assessment of Organophosphorus Pesticide Dietary Intake for the Population of the City of Rome (Italy)

The use of pesticides has been monitored on the basis of sales statistics since 1953 in Finland and the information has been used for targeting the official food control to products where pesticides are mostly used. Food consumption and the earlier control results were also taken into account. The intake of pesticides has been estimated based on the control analysis and statistical food consumption data, where also the ratio of imports was taken into account. The samples were taken by food control authorities and analysed separately. In spite of slight bias owing to sampling for control purposes, the results are representative of the products consumed. The intake estimation method has been classified in the group Estimated Daily Intake (EDI). The intakes of a total of the 53 most commonly found pesticides were estimated. The intakes of the evaluated pesticides were below 2% of ADIs. The average daily intake was 75 μg per person in 1992 mainly from imported products, only 24% initiating from domestic produ...

Control and intake of pesticide residues during 1981–1993 in Finland

Residual organophosphorus pesticides (OPP) in rice decrease when rice is cooked, but the extent of the decrease varies largely with the kind of pesticide used, ranging from 20% for Dimethoate to 93.5% for Ronnel. To determine the mechanism of this decrease, 14 kinds of pesticides were tested in a model experiment designed to determine their thermal decomposition and steam distillation behavior. From the results of the experiment, the test pesticides can be classified into three groups: 1) compounds resistant to both thermal decomposition and steam distillation (e. g., Dimethoate), 2) compounds thermally stable but susceptible to steam distillation (e. g., Fenitrothion=MEP), and 3) compounds thermally unstable and susceptible to steam distillation (e. g., Diazinon). The experimental results accounted well for the behavior of residual. OPPs in rice during the cooking process, and the residual amounts of OPPs after cooking can be estimated from the results.

Shunji Sumiyashiki

Papers

Evaporation and Thermal Decomposition of Organophosphorus Pesticides During Cooking of Rice