Dietary Intake of Pesticides Based on Import Animal Liver Consumption: A Case Study, Cairo, Egypt

A total of 18 pesticides (12 organochlorines, and 6 pyrethroids) in 32 different imported animal liver samples collected from local markets in Cairo governorate in Egypt in different seasons, were detect the contamination of organochlorines and pyrethroids pesticides using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method. The presence of organochlorines and pyrethroids pesticides residues were determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The results indicated that, the pesticides residues were found in all samples and 2 samples above the maximum residue levels (MRLs). Organochlorine residues had the highest percentage of contamination and violation (i.e. 100 and 6.25%, respectively) in imported animal liver samples, whereas synthetic pyrethroid residues had the lowest percentage of contamination (i.e. 6.25%) while their percentage of violation were 0%. However, the most frequently found pesticides were P,P'-DDE and heptachlor-epoxide while the lowest frequently found pesticides were aldrin, cypermethrin and deltamethrin. Furthermore, the health risk index for heptachlor-epoxide was the greatest which may be due to its physiochemical properties. A potential regular pesticides residues monitoring program in imported animal liver should be conducted to protect the consumers' health.