Pesticide residues in fruits from Riyadh markets: a three-year evaluation

Fruits are most commonly subjected to pesticide treatments both pre- and post-harvest, which has led to concerns regarding consumer safety. This study aimed to evaluate pesticide contamination in fruits over three years (2020 to 2022), covering a wide diversity (33 types) of fruits and a large sample size (76,290 samples). The LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS analyses showed that only 2.1% (1,596 samples) of fruits tested exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs), and only 17.8% (13,568 samples) contained detectable residues below MRLs; the majority, 80.1% (61,126 samples), were free of detectable pesticide residues or below 0.01mg/kg. Temporal trends over the three years showed that pesticide contamination levels remained relatively stable. Fungicides were the most frequently detected contaminants to exceed MRLs (53.2%; P < 0.001). Within each separate pesticide category, the most significantly and frequently detected pesticides (P < 0.001) were also identified: imazalil (17.4%) in the fungicide category, chlorpyrifos (24.2%) in the insecticide category, bifenthrin (57.5%) in the insecticide & acaricide category, ethofumesate (60.0%) in the herbicide category, and propargite (98.0%) in the acaricide category. In terms of the types of fruits tested, mandarin and buckthorn were identified as the fruits most frequently contaminated with pesticide residues below and above the MRLs, respectively. Also, lemons showed the highest frequency of pesticide contamination at elevated concentrations. These results highlight the importance of focusing on certain fruit types and pesticide categories to ensure food safety.