Probabilistic health risk assessment based on Monte Carlo simulation for pesticide residues in date fruits of Iran

The validation of an analytical procedure based on the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) approach is presented for multiresidue analysis of pesticides in dates by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS2). The proposed methodology was applied for simultaneous quantification of 16 pesticides in 50 different date fruits. Method validation was performed regarding accuracy, precision, LDR, LOD, and LOQ, as well as matrix effects. Results of validation were satisfactory, with recoveries higher than 80% for 75% of the samples for 100- and 500- μg L−1 spike levels. Evaluation of the matrix effect revealed that for 81% of the samples, a slight matrix effect was observed. Residues in 92% of the real samples were found below national MRLs. Afterward, hazard quotient (HQ) and total hazard quotient (THQ) of human health risk assessment of pesticides was estimated using a probabilistic approach based on the Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm. Total hazard quotient (THQ) in adults based on the consumption of dates in total samples was estimated to be 7.8% and 36.7% for adults and children, respectively. Since the studied pesticides are registered in the country and are the most widely used pesticides on dates, the occurrence of other pesticide residues seems to be unlikely. Consequently, the applied health risk assessment on Iranian date fruit samples showed that the HQ for adults and children populations indicates no risk to human health.