Pesticide residues in raspberries and their risk assessment

Raspberry is one of the oldest fruits, used for millennia in the nutritional and medicinal purposes. Cultivation of this fruit in Poland is quite common because of its complex flavor and pharmacological effectiveness. The objective of this study was to investigate the residue levels of 130 pesticides on raspberries from north-eastern Poland producers during seven years (2005–2011). A risk assessment of the pesticides in raspberries was conducted by calculating acceptable daily intakes (ADI) and acute reference dose (ARfD). Pesticide residues exceeding maximum residue levels (MRLs) were found in 29.3% of samples. Among the detected compounds, the most frequently detected pesticide was pyrimethanil (34.8%). Fenhexamid was the fungicide with the highest concentration (5.53 mg/kg). The ADIs ranged from 0.003% to 3.183% for adults and 0.008% to 9.739% for toddlers. The chronic dietary intakes of 18 pesticides for adults and toddlers didn’t overcome the toxicologically acceptable levels. The most critical case was procymidone with 180.9% of ARfD for toddlers and 83% of ARfD for adults. The results of this research show that raspberries are safe in long and short term nutrition of human beings.