Occurrence, fate and dietary risk assessment of pesticides in chrysanthemum from garden to cup

Abstract

As a popular beverage with an integration property of medicine, chrysanthemum industry has exhibited a significant increase in production and consumption in recent years. However, pesticide residues have emerged as a critical concern threatening the sustainable development of the chrysanthemum industry. In this study, based on an analysis of pesticide occurrence of 111 market chrysanthemum products from China, 17 pesticides with high detection frequencies and residue levels were selected to investigate their fate and exposure risks across the chrysanthemum production chain. Field dissipation experiments revealed first-order kinetics for all target pesticides, with half-lives ranging from 0.8 to 8.8 days after foliar application. During chrysanthemum manufacturing, pesticides showed a significant concentration, significantly correlated with the hydrophobicity (logKow) and water solubility (Ws) of the pesticides. Drying was identified as the pivotal step determining the pesticide residue retention in final products. Brewing step resulted 0.5–112.3 % residue transfer of the pesticides from dry chrysanthemum to infusion, positively related with Ws. Combined risk assessment indicated an acceptable health risk by chrysanthemum consumption. Data from this study provide insights into the fate of pesticides during chrysanthemum production chain, promoting a rational and scientific use of pesticides to ensure product safety and industry sustainability.