Effectiveness of household and industrial washing methods on pesticide residue removal from tomatoes: Insights from QuEChERS and LC-HRMS analysis

The effectiveness of twenty-seven household and industrial-scale washing methods aiming to decrease residues of five pesticides (acetamiprid, cyprodinil, spirotetramat, fluopyram, and tebuconazole) in fresh tomatoes was comprehensively evaluated. For the extraction and analysis of the target pesticides, QuEChERS and LC-Orbitrap HRMS were employed, respectively. Ultimately, processing factors (PFs) were calculated to assess the removal efficiency of each method. Among the household treatments, soaking tomatoes in lemon juice for 5 min and washing with water at 40 °C consistently achieved substantial reductions in pesticide residues herein, with PFs often below 0.5. More specifically, lemon juice washing reduced acetamiprid and cyprodinil residues by up to 65 % and 70 %, respectively. Industrial-scale approaches, such as ultrasound-assisted washing, treatments with chemical agents, and emerging nanobubble technologies showed promising yet variable results. A general trend was observed for pesticides with higher log K ow , where higher PFs were exhibited. However, the identified exceptions suggest that pesticide persistence during washing is influenced by multiple physico-chemical and methodological factors. Ιn the subsequent dietary risk assessment, it is evidenced that all treatments achieved residue levels well below acceptable daily intake thresholds (%ADI), indicating negligible health risks under the tested conditions. Conclusively, this study can be an insightful approach for the assessment of the performance of washing strategies, underscoring at the same time the importance of optimizing decontamination protocols according to the pesticide properties. Our findings emphasize the necessity for evidence-based washing recommendations, thereby contributing to consumer protection and food safety. • Household washing was more effective than industrial methods. • Soaking in 6 % lemon juice for 5 min removed all residues by up to 50 %. • Elevated temperatures enhanced pesticide degradation rates. • Higher log K ow pesticides had higher PFs and lower removal rates. • Dietary risk assessments showed all exposures were within safe limits.