Evaluation of pesticides risk associated to the consumption of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) cultivated in the municipality of Port-Bouët (Abidjan)

The use of agrochemicals may be a public health problem because the pesticides residues in food can have drawbacks on human health. This work aimed to evaluate health risk associated to the consumption of lettuce. Pesticide residues were determined by HPLC and toxicological indicators (Estimated Daily Intake and the Theoretical Maximum Daily Intake) were calculated and compared to the acceptable daily intake. The results showed that 83.3 % of lettuce samples contained at least one pesticide whose content is above the maximum residue limit. The risk assessment showed that 1.7 % of lettuce consumers were exposed to chronic effects of maneb; 1.7 % lettuce consumers are likely to develop the chronic effects of carbendazim. For the ethyl chlorpyrifos, chlorothalonil, cypermethrin, dimethoate and lambdacyhalothrin, respectively 20.9% , 68.4 %, 87.2 % and 97.1 % of lettuce consumers were exposed to the chronic effects of these pesticides.

Keywords: Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, pesticide, risk of exposure