Simultaneous Determination and Dietary Risk Assessment of 26 Pesticide Residues in Wheat Grain and Bran Using QuEChERS-UHPLC-MS/MS

Evaluating the potential chronic health risks posed by pesticides to consumers is essential for ensuring food safety and protecting public health. An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method coupled with modified QuEChERS extraction was developed to simultaneously determine 26 pesticide residues in wheat grain and bran. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile with 2% (<i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) acetic acid and cleaned up using C₁₈ sorbent. Method validation demonstrated excellent linearity, accuracy, and precision. When applied to 48 wheat grain and 24 bran samples collected from major wheat-growing regions in China, 12 and 21 pesticides were detected at concentrations ranging from <0.005 to 1.785 mg kg^-1 and <0.01 to 2.188 mg kg^-1, respectively. Chronic hazard quotients (HQc) and acute hazard quotients (HQa) for all pesticides for grain and bran were far below the safety threshold of 100%. These results indicate that pesticide residues in wheat grain and bran present negligible chronic dietary risks to consumers across all age groups.