Abstract:
The food and environmental safety debate extends to the use of pesticides in agriculture
including the wine sector, which is one of the most intensive pesticide users across the agricultural
sector. Pesticide utilisation is a common agricultural practice to protect fruits and plants from
pathogens and insects while maintaining high production levels. Grapevine is generally a crop that is
subject to intensive phytosanitary treatments, and therefore, it can be assumed that pesticide residues
will accumulate in the vine-shoots and, later on, end up in the grapes and wines. The aim of this study
was to determine the pesticide content in red, rosé, and white wines after phytosanitary treatments
applied in the vineyard and their impact on long-term dietary risks. The following six pesticides
were analysed: oxathiapiprolin, myclobutanil, iprovalicarb, tebuconazole, chlorantraniliprole, and
acetamiprid. Samples were extracted using the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and
safe) method and analysed for the residues of pesticides by liquid chromatography-tandem mass
spectrometry. Results indicated that the observed pesticides in the wine samples ranged between 0.05
and 0.75 ng/g. Dietary risks due to pesticide residues for women and men were evaluated using the
estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI) of wines. The HQs and HIs
did not surpass the 1 value (HQ, HI < 1) for both women and men, denoting that the concentrations
of pesticide residues in these wine samples do not pose any immediate risk to consumers. Moreover,
a pesticide residue intake model (PRIMo) model analysis was conducted, and the results suggest that
European adult consumers have a low pesticide residue intake due to moderate wine consumption.
However, pesticide residue intakes have been associated with several human health problems and
high toxicity levels, therefore reliable analytical methods to monitor their presence in horticultural
crops is crucial for clean and safe food products and healthy consumers.
