Pesticide residues in ready-to-eat leafy vegetables from markets of Santiago, Chile, and consumer’s risk

Abstract

The detection of pesticide residues in leafy vegetables has been a relevant concern in Chile over the last years. There is also a priority at the national level to propose a methodology to assess health risks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of pesticide residues in ready-to-eat leafy vegetables in order to evaluate different models for health risk assessment. The models considered data of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health of Chile (MINSAL). The Hazard Quotients and Hazard Indexes for the pesticides evaluated in all models decreased in the following order: methamidophos>lambda-cyhalothrin> chlorpyrifos. From a food safety perspective, the investigated samples suggest the presence of a greater health risk to consumers when compared using the official data of MINSAL, which needs appropriate attention.