title: Ranking the risk of pesticide dietary intake.
abstract: Pesticide residues in various foods were assessed for the relative risk to the consumer. The analysis took into account criteria such as a pesticide's toxicity, usage, frequency of occurrence in foods, frequency of Maximum Residue Level (MRL) exceedances, and the overall risks of specific pesticide/food combinations. Examination of the top ten ranked pesticides for each criterion showed that there are no trends of commonality. Thus, no single pesticide is of particular concern from a consumer's point of view. This suggests that the consumer's risk perception is likely to be higher than justified.
authors.affiliation: Food Safety Group, Institute of Environmental Science & Research, PO Box 29-181, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Hui-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Juliet A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gerrard
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cressey
authors.forename: Ian C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010575:Pesticides