Probabilistic Approach on Dietary Exposure Assessment of Neonicotinoid Pesticide Residues in Fruit Vegetables

The aim of this study is to investigate the exposure assessment of Korean consumers to five neonicotinoid pesticides in fruit vegetables cultivated in Korea, using a probabilistic approach. We used five neonicotionid pesticides residues(acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam) data in fruit vegetables reported by Rural Development Administration for the 2009 monitoring programme. Total exposure of five neonicotinoid pesticides for Korean consumer ranged from 0.087 to 0.236 /kg/day at the percentile. The percentile values of total exposure of five neonicotinoid pesticides by probabilistic approach were lower than those by deterministic approach, although mean values of total exposure by probabilistic approach were similar with those of total exposure by deterministic approach. Total exposure to acetamiprid residue may be mainly due to the exposure to acetamiprid through the consumption of strawberry. Also, acetamiprid residues in strawberry were considered as much more contributory factor to total exposure of acetamiprid than consumption data of strawberry. This contributory properties of acetamiprid were similar with those of all other neonicotinoid pesticides, excluding thiacloprid.