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

• DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113493
• Publication Date: 2022-10-30T00:42:14Z
• Authors: Seyedeh Faezeh Ta...; Gholamreza Karimi; Manolis Tzatzarakis; Ioannis Tsakiris; Hamid Ahmadpourmir; Majid Azizi; Asma Afshari; Vahideh Ghorani; Fatemeh Yarmohammadi; Aristidis Tsatsakis; Ramin Rezaee
• Keywords: Fruit and Vegetable Juices; 0404 agricultural biotechnology; Lead; 13. Climate action; Metals, Heavy; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; Iran; Pesticides; Risk Assessment; 7. Clean energy; Environmental Monitoring

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.