Determination of pesticide residues in essential oils and related risk assessment for consumers: a pilot study

Essential Oils are innovative products of vegetable origin, whose use can find multifunctional applications in food supplements, aquaculture as a complementary feed, agriculture as plant protection products, topical disinfectants and wellness products. The aims of this study are the development of a multiresidue method to be used with essential oils, the determination of contaminant pesticide levels in twelve different products randomly taken from the Italian market and a preliminary human risk assessment. By using the developed method, fulfilling the EU criteria for pesticide control activity, we found that Citrus EOs showed the highest contamination among the investigated products. Inter-batches variability was also evident. Considering the oral and dermal exposure to different pesticide residues contaminating the analysed EO, based on combined exposure to multiple pesticides, and their hazard potential, no risk for consumers' health seems to be present. However, these preliminary findings underscore the importance of monitoring and quality control measures in the production and distribution of EOs to ensure consumer safety.