Pesticide residues found in strawberry samples from Beijing
What it found
About a quarter of 245 strawberry samples from Beijing markets contained at least one pesticide residue, and four had residues above China's maximum limit.
The authors estimated that the amounts eaten would be far below levels of concern for adults and children.
What they found
Residues in samples
26.0% of the strawberry samples contained at least one pesticide residue. Four samples had residues that exceeded China's maximum residue limit.
Most common pesticides
The pesticides found most often were carbendazim, pyrimethanil and azoxystrobin.
Estimated exposure
In the worst-case scenario, the hazard index was 0.91% for adults and 3.62% for children. The top three contributors to this hazard index were carbofuran, bifenazate and pyraclostrobin.
What the authors conclude
- They say the method worked well for monitoring pesticide residues and met the requirements of the European Guideline SANTE/11813/2017.
- They report that the hazard index values for adults and children were low in the worst-case scenario.
How it was done
The authors wanted to check pesticide residues in strawberries sold in Beijing and estimate how much of these residues people might eat.
They collected 245 strawberry samples from farmers markets or supermarkets in Beijing between June 2017 and May 2018. They tested each sample for 142 different pesticide residues using a lab method called HPLC-MS/MS.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study looked at strawberries from Beijing markets over one year. It cannot show whether strawberries from other places or times have the same residues.
- The hazard index is based on estimated exposure and does not measure actual health effects in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Institute of Food Science and Technology, PR China; Tianjin University of Science and Technology, PR China; Hainan Institute for Food Control, PR China
The paper
- Title
- Monitoring and dietary exposure assessment of pesticide residues in strawberry in Beijing, China
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Li J, Chen W, Deng K, Liu S, Li B, Li Y (2022). Monitoring and dietary exposure assessment of pesticide residues in strawberry in Beijing, China. Food additives & contaminants. Part B, Surveillance. doi:10.1080/19393210.2022.2028311PubMed 35067199DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error