Cumulative dietary risk assessment of pesticide residues concerning craniofacial alterations in Serbia through fruits and vegetable intake.

Abstract

Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) involves the analysis, characterization, and possible quantification of combined health or environmental risks from multiple agents or stressors. Humans can be exposed to multiple pesticides through a single food item or by consuming various food products. With increasing evidence suggesting that simultaneous exposure to multiple chemicals may lead to adverse effects, even at doses considered safe for individual chemicals, there is growing concern about the potential health risks of such combined exposure. A CRA of dietary exposure to pesticide residues from fruit and vegetable intake was conducted for two types of craniofacial alterations in Serbian women of childbearing age, following European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) establishment of cumulative assessment groups (CAGs) for craniofacial alterations and utilizing a second-order Monte Carlo simulation. This assessment incorporated data from over 6100 conventionally produced fruit and vegetable samples analyzed from 2021 to 2024, along with consumption data collected via the 24-h recall method. The risk indicator Total Margin of Exposure (MOET) values remained above the regulatory consideration thresholds of 100, or even 500, for both evaluated effects.