Residue Levels of Pesticides on Fruits for Use in Wildlife Risk Assessments

Abstract

The guidance document on risk assessment for birds and mammals (GD) provides generic residue values of pesticides on potential diet items for use in wildlife risk assessments. For most diet items, these values are based on a large number of residue studies. However, the default residues per unit dose (RUD; standardized for application of 1 kg substance per hectare) values for fruits were taken from a few literature trials of unclear relevance for regulatory purposes. These trials were conducted according to neither current European Union (EU) agricultural practice nor to recommendations given in the GD about how to conduct wildlife‐relevant residue studies. Therefore, field study data on fruit residue levels from applications of pesticides in fruiting crops were compiled and evaluated. Corresponding studies had been conducted during the last 26 y in the EU. In the final data set, 291 studies provided 1002 residue values in different fruits, including grapes, berries (currants, raspberries, gooseberries), fruits from orchards (apple, peach, pear, lemon, mandarin, orange, apricot, cherry, plum), gourds (pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, melons), and strawberries. This data set provides a basis for revising registration‐relevant RUD values for fruits as potential diet items for birds and mammals in environmental wildlife risk assessments. The objective of this study was to estimate the resulting residue levels in different fruits determined under field conditions following the application of pesticides across their growing areas within the EU in diverse climatic areas that can be used directly in wildlife risk assessments. The large data set of usually about more than 100 residue values per “fruit group,” all evaluated at EU member state level, revealed significantly lower RUDs compared to the current default RUDs presented in the GD. These new RUD values for fruits should be considered for use as default values in future bird and mammal risk assessments and in respective guidance documents. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:552–561. © 2020 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology Chemistry (SETAC)

Preserving wintering frugivorous birds in agro‐ecosystems under land use change: Lessons from intensive and super‐intensive olive orchards

“…Also, heavy use of agro‐chemicals, together with landscape homogenisation, may reduce the availability of alternative foods (Bergmeier & Strid, 2014; Cárdenas et al., 2006; Rey, 2011; Ruano et al., 2004; Solomou & Sfougaris, 2011), which may be problematic in late winter when olive availability is low. Finally, olives may be contaminated with pesticide residues (Cabras et al., 1997), with poorly known but potentially serious consequences for birds (Schabacker et al., 2020). Overall, our results are encouraging regarding the ability of intensive olive farming to sustain frugivorous birds, but we recommend that exposure to risks should be reduced by stopping night harvest (Silva & Mata, 2019), increasing heterogeneity at local (woody hedges, herbaceous cover) and landscape (semi‐natural habitats and diverse land uses, including different olive orchard types) scales to promote alternative food sources (Assandri et al., 2017; Bouvier et al., 2020; Castro‐Caro et al., 2015; Rey et al., 2019) and reducing agro‐chemical use to avoid negative effects on birds and their foods (Rey, 2011).…”

Dissipation Residue Behaviors and Dietary Risk Assessment of Boscalid and Pyraclostrobin in Watermelon by HPLC-MS/MS

“…Different berries, pome, and stone fruits exhibit a variety of shapes, sizes, and surfaces. Particularly, fruit size, volume–surface area relationship, and details of the skin structure likely influence the residue levels [ 37 ]. In previous studies, it was found that the residues of boscalid and pyraclostrobin in apples were at levels of 0.049 ± 0.007 mg/kg and 0.032 ± 0.003 mg/kg, respectively, which were similar to our results [ 38 ].…”

Measuring the Residual Levels of Fenpyroximate and Its Z-Isomer in Citrus Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Assessing the Related Dietary Intake Risks

“…The residual concentrations of fenpyroximate in citrus flesh were lower than those in entire fruits because droplets of pesticides wholly adhered to the surface of the citrus peel after application. The total residues of fenpyroximate in whole fruit and citrus flesh were all derived from fenpyroximate because the chemical configuration of fenpyroximate in plants gives it an advantage compared to Z-fenpyroximate [25].…”