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Risks evaluation from pesticide residues in food

The use of pesticides to control pest and disease is important for the production of sufficient quantities of safe and affordable food. However, the use of these agents sometimes leaves residues (the pesticide or its degradation products) in/on plant parts used as human food or animal feed commodities. These residues may enter the human food chain either directly - through the consumption of treated foods, e.g. grain or fruit, or indirectly - through the transfer of residues to milk, eggs and meat products. Currently used toxicological test methods and safety assessment procedures safeguard humans against potential adverse effects of pesticides. It should be noted that foods containing residues at the maximum permitted levels are safe for consumption, but the permitted levels are not safety limits. Principles for the toxicological risk assessment of pesticide residues in food are based on animal experimentation and other relevant data and are accepted worldwide as the basis for safety evaluation. The purpose of toxicity studies curried out according GLP principles in laboratory animal species is to characterize the toxicological profile of a test compound. Animal studies include pharmacokinetic and metabolism, subacute and long-term toxicity, reproduction, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, specialized toxicity and in vitro studies. The available data provide the basis for the safety assessment of compounds and should include NOAELs (no observed adverse effect level) for the most sensitive animal species. From the NOAEL value the ADI (acceptable daily intake) for humans may be calculated, i.e. the amount of a pesticide residue in food and drinking water that can be ingested daily over a lifetime by humans without appreciable health risk. An ADI can be established if the toxicological data are sufficient and valid. The ADI concept is not applicable to every type of compound. For certain biological effects like genotoxicity, a NOAEL may not be identified. In such case a quantitative risk analysis is made in order to estimate an acceptable risk for the human population. The ADI concept can be considered as a "safety-first" approach (1). Application of large safety margins is recommended, since humans in practice are exposed to low levels of mixtures of foreign chemicals present in the environment. The experience gained to data indicates that human safety upon exposure to pesticides is sufficiently protected. Dietary exposure of humans to residues of pesticides in food resulting from uses is too low to induce adverse health effects in humans. It is important to note that established ADIs are being permanently re-evaluated and where necessary revised based on new toxicity data developments in methods of detection, and in improvement of models to evaluate the toxicity of pesticides.

food, pesticide residues, risk evaluation, NOAEL, ADI

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