Avaliação e monitoramento dos níveis de contaminação por resíduos de agrotóxicos em alimentos de origem vegetal comercializados no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing concern among consumers about the presence of pesticide residues in food, especially in fresh vegetables. This study aimed to describe and evaluate the results of the analysis of pesticide residues in plant foods collected by the Program for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Food (PARA) in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The method consisted of documentary and descriptive analysis of the analysis reports of the food collected in the retail trade, between the years 2013 and 2017. The results revealed that 62.3% of the analyzed samples presented pesticide residues, of these 22.6% presented results unsatisfactory under the legislation. The most disapproved food crops were, respectively: zucchini, peppers, guava, grapes, strawberries and cucumbers. Considering all the samples analyzed, 21.6% were rejected for presenting an unauthorized active ingredient, 3% for containing pesticides above the maximum residue limits and 2% were rejected in both parameters. In addition, 5.8% of unsatisfactory samples presented pesticides whose use is prohibited in the country. The present study allowed to verify the presence of unsatisfactory results for pesticide residues in a significant portion of plant foods sold in Minas Gerais, which reinforces the need to implement more effective actions to control and mitigate risks in the face of food contamination by pesticides.