Risk Factors Associated with Pesticide Residues in Imported Vegetables and Fruits to Thailand

Abstract

Background: In 2019, over one million tons of vegetables and fruits were imported to Thailand. Although the Thai Food and Drug Administration had systematically monitored pesticide residues at Food and Drug Checkpoints across the country, the risk factors associated with pesticide residues had not been assessed.

Objectives: To analyse the surveillance situation of pesticide residues and assess the risk factors that are associated with pesticide residues in imported vegetables and fruits to Thailand.

Methodology: This research was a retrospective cross-sectional study on the laboratory analysis report data of pesticide residues in imported vegetables and fruits at the Food and Drug Checkpoints in the northern, central, and southern regions in the 2018 – 2019 fiscal year. It was analysed the association by using inferential statistics of the Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test at a p-value of 0.05.

Results: From data of 1,375 imported vegetable and fruit samples, the study discovered that the majority of samples missed standards in the first quarter of the fiscal year (October–December) and the least in the second quarter (20.56 and 6.23%, respectively). The group of producer/distributor countries that had the highest missed standard was the Asia Continence at 19.20%, followed by North America and Australia by 8.54 and 4.98%. When considering fruit and vegetable producers/distributors whose missed standards and met standards background, they missed standards by 33.20 and 11.76%, respectively. Besides, among the importers who got a failure of standard history and passed, there was a similar proportion by 14.40 and 16.49%. Overall, the vegetables that missed the standard were 20.06%; the top three of them included fruiting vegetables that were excluded other than cucurbit, stalk and stem vegetables, and leafy vegetables by 65.71, 63.16, and 49.33%, respectively. Overall, the percentage of fruits that missed the standard was 10.58%. The top three included stone fruit, citrus fruit, and berries and other small fruits that missed the standard by 36.36, 23.39, and 15.79%. The pesticide residue types in vegetables were Organophosphate, Pyrethroid, Carbamate, and Organochlorine by 15.35, 14.42, 13.95 and 3.72%, while they were found in fruits by 33.67, 17.35, 32.65, and 2.04%, respectively. Moreover, the risk factors associated with discovering the pesticide residues in imported vegetables and fruits by statistical significance were period of importation, type of vegetables and fruits, country of producers/distributors, and the history of producers/distributors at a p-value of 0.000. On the contrary, it was not associated with the background of the importers.

Conclusion: The pesticide residues in imported vegetables and fruits that most missed standards were in the fiscal year's first quarter (October – December). Imported vegetables found pesticide residues more than fruits by approximately twice; Asia fell higher than other continents. The producer/distributor group that got a missed standard history had pesticide residues in products more than the non-missed standard history group about three times. Furthermore, the countries of origin and their history were the risk factors that were associated with the discovery of pesticide residues in imported vegetables and fruits.