Contamination of Foods from Cameroon with Residues of 20 Halogenated Pesticides, and Health Risk of Adult Human Dietary Exposure

Yamdeu Joseph Hubert Galani, Michael Houbraken, Abukari Wumbei, Joseph Fovo Djeugap, Daniel Fotio, Yun Yun Gong and Pieter Spanoghe
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Yamdeu Joseph Hubert Galani: School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Michael Houbraken: Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Abukari Wumbei: Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Joseph Fovo Djeugap: Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang P.O. Box 222, Cameroon
Daniel Fotio: Inter-States Pesticides Committee of Central Africa, Yaounde P.O. Box 16344, Cameroon
Yun Yun Gong: School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Pieter Spanoghe: Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: (1) Background: Halogenated pesticides are abundantly used in Cameroon, but there is no information on the health risk of consumers from exposure to their residues in foods. (2) Methods: Residues of 20 halogenated pesticides were determined in 11 agricultural products collected in the 3 largest cities of Cameroon using QuEChERS extraction and gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and health risk from dietary exposure was assessed. (3) Results: Organochlorines pesticides aldrin, p,p’-dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and ?-hexachlorocyclohexane (?-HCH) found in 85.0%, 81.9% and 72.5% of samples, respectively, were the most frequently detected. The highest average concentrations of residues were 1.12, 0.74 and 0.39 mg/kg for methoxychlor, alachlor and ?-HCH, respectively, found in chilli pepper. Chili pepper (58.9%), cowpea (56.8%), black beans (56.5%) and kidney beans (54.0%) exhibited the highest residue occurrences. Levels above the European Union maximum residue limits (MRLs) were found for all the 20 pesticides, in 40.1% of the positive analyses, and the food samples contained 14 pesticides banned in Cameroon. Chronic, acute, cumulative and carcinogenic risk assessments revealed that lifetime consumption of maize, black beans, kidney beans, groundnuts and chili pepper contaminated with aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, HCB, heptachlor, o,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD, p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDE and ?-HCH, could pose health risks. (4) Conclusion: These results show that there is an urgent need of pesticide usage regulation, effective application of pesticide bans and management of obsolete pesticide stocks in Cameroon.

Keywords: food safety; POPs; organochlorine; pesticide residues; risk assessment; Cameroon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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