Influence of processing factors on the estimation of consumer exposure to pesticide residues

Dietary exposure of xenobiotics is typically estimated by combining occurrence data with food consumption data. While consumption data typically refer to whole or processed foods, occurrence data such as pesticide residues are often collected for raw primary commodities (RPC). To bridge this gap, consumption data are often converted to RPC equivalents using food recipe data. However, food processing can significantly alter pesticide residue levels making it important to consider these changes in the form of processing factors (PF) when estimating the exposure. These PF can vary substantially depending on the specific recipe, processing method, and food commodities. This study aimed to quantify the influence of single food commodities on consumer exposure and evaluate the impact of applying PF. Results showed that within distinct food groups, only few commodities have a high sensitivity on the overall chronic dietary exposure. The estimated exposure decreases significantly when PF for these commodities are incorporated. For instance, the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) utilization at the 95th percentile for the food group citrus decreases from 35.9 % to 12.5 %, when PF for oranges are included. These findings support a more targeted approach in dietary exposure modelling by identifying food – processing combinations that significantly influence risk estimation. • Food processing significantly alters pesticide residue levels in food. • Only few food processing methods significantly affect chronic consumer exposure to pesticides. • Our work enables a tailor-made selection of relevant processing studies.