Multi-Pesticide Residue Occurrence and Age-Specific Dietary Exposure Risk Assessment of Apples from Major Production Areas in Xinjiang, China

To characterize pesticide residues and age-specific dietary exposure risks in apples from Xinjiang’s main production areas, 120 samples were collected from Aksu, Ili, and Kashgar in October 2025 and screened for 82 pesticides using GC–MS/MS, LC–MS/MS, and GC–ECD. Chronic, acute, and cumulative dietary exposure was subsequently assessed. Eight pesticides were detected, all below their corresponding maximum residue limits (MRLs). Acetamiprid had the highest detection frequency (28.3%), yet pyridaben was the leading contributor to chronic hazard index (HIc) under both lower-bound (LB) and upper-bound (UB) scenarios. Carbendazim, acetamiprid, and pyridaben were the major contributors to summed acute hazard index (HIa), demonstrating a mismatch between detection frequency and risk contribution. The sample-level chronic hazard index was significantly higher in the multi-pesticide co-occurrence group than in the single-residue group (p < 0.001). Toddlers showed the highest cumulative exposure, with chronic hazard indices of 0.179% (LB) and 2.209% (UB), and an acute hazard index of 33.759%. Sensitivity analysis revealed that adopting the recently updated EFSA toxicological reference values for acetamiprid caused acute hazard quotients to exceed the 100% screening threshold in toddlers and children, highlighting how the source and currency of toxicological reference values can affect risk assessment conclusions. Under the primary analysis reference values, dietary exposure risks were low; however, risk prioritization should account not only for detection frequency and MRL compliance but also for actual exposure levels, co-occurrence patterns, and updates to toxicological reference values.