Ranking the risk of pesticide dietary intake.
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.
Low
Felicia
F
Food Safety Group, Institute of Environmental Science & Research, PO Box 29-181, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Lin
Hui-Ming
HM
Gerrard
Juliet A
JA
Cressey
Peter J
PJ
Shaw
Ian C
IC
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
D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010575:Pesticides