The risk exposure of bee colonies to the toxicity of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides was assessed. Various methods of chemical prevention of commercial winter and spring oilseed rape crops in field-realistic conditions were taken into account in the assessment. Pesticides were applied in accordance with the actual agricultural practice. Commercial crop protection products with thiamethoxam, clothianidin or imidacloprid were used as seed treatment. Formulations containing acetamiprid or thiacloprid were used for spraying. Fifteen healthy bee colonies were placed in close proximity to each of the oilseed rape fields throughout the blooming period. During florescence, the samples of nectar (directly from flowers and nectar flow from combs) and pollen loads were collected repeatedly. Samples of honey, bee bread and adult bees were taken one week after the end of plants flowering. To ensure high specificity and sensitivity of analysed pestcicides modified QuEChERS extraction method and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used. The five of neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiametoxam, acetamiprid and thiacloprid) were analyzed in multi-residue method with 0.1 - 10 ng/g limits of detection. Palynological analysis was done to determine the botanical origin of the nectar, honey and pollen. Development of bee colonies (brood area, worker biomass, colony health) was assessed every 3 weeks until the end of the beekeeping season. The amount of pollen collected by bees per hive, bee bread area and rape honey yield was also measured. The long-term effects of insecticides on bees were estimated using the same methods in April of the following year. All the neonicotinoid insecticides applied to control oilseed rape pests were present in the samples of nectar and pollen. Their residue levels were lower than the acute oral and contact LD50 values. Among five examined neonicotinoids, the most frequently detected were: thiamethoxam, thiacloprid and acetamiprid. These substances were present in 65, 64, and 51% of the nectar samples and in 37, 62, and 45% of the pollen samples, respectively. The highest level of residues were noted after the thiamethoxam seed treatment; on average, 4.2 and 3.8 ng/g in the nectar and pollen samples. In the nectar and pollen samples from winter rape fields, lower levels of neonicotinoid residues were found in comparison to spring rape samples. The contaminations of neonicotinoids applied as seed dressing in nectar samples were significantly higher in comparison to the pollen samples. No negative effects of neonicotinoids on the bee mortality, brood development, strength, and honey yield of healthy bee colonies were found throughout the study period. However, the risk exposure of bee colonies on adverse impact of pesticide residues is high in areas of intensively cultivated oilseed rape.

`Kent' strawberries were harvested at red, pink, and white stages of development, and stored at 15C in the light. Fruit were sampled over a 10-day period and evaluated for volatile production and surface color. Volatile production by red and pink fruit peaked after 4 days of storage. Maximum volatile production by red fruit was 8- and 25-fold greater than maximum production by pink and white fruit, respectively. Aroma volatiles were not detected in the headspace over white berries until 4 days following harvest after which volatile production increased through the tenth day of storage. Changes in the surface color of white berries during postharvest ripening coincided with the production of volatiles. In another experiment, red, pink, and white `Kent' strawberries were stored for 3 days at 10 or 20C in the dark or light. Fruit were then evaluated for volatile production, weight loss, anthocyanin content, and surface color changes. White berries produced volatile esters after 3 days of storage at 20C in the light. Both light and temperature influenced the relative production of the volatiles produced by pink fruit. Fresh weight loss, color change, and anthocyanin content were temperature and light dependent.

The spread and environmental accumulation of DDT over the years represent not only a threat to human health and ecological security but also a major challenge because of the complex chemical processes and technologies required for remediation. Saprotrophic fungi, isolated from contaminated sites, hold promise for their bioremediation potential toward toxic organic compounds, since they might provide an environment-friendly solution to contamination. Once we verified the high tolerance of autochthonous fungal strains to high concentrations of DDT, we showed how fungi from different phyla demonstrate a high metabolic versatility in the presence of DDT. The isolates showed the singular ability to keep their functionality, despite the DDT-induced production of reactive oxygen species.

The analysis of 142 agricultural soil samples collected in organic farms across Poland with the intent to evaluate the level of DDT contamination resulted in more than 80% of the soils containing DDT. The ΣDDT (sum of all metabolites and isomers) concentration ranged between 0.005 and 0.383 mg/kg ΣDDT, with an average value of 0.064 mg/kg ΣDDT. However, the majority of plant samples collected from the crops growing on the sampled soils did not contain detectable DDT residues. The high DDT pollution levels detected in samples from four voivodeships (regions) among those monitored have been hypothesised to be linked to horticultural productions occurring to the sampled fields and typical of those regions, particularly in big-sized farms, during the period of DDT application, as well as the number of pesticides landfills present in these voivodeships. The elaboration of the o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT and DDT/(DDE + DDD) ratios to appraise the source or the period of contamination suggested that the contamination originated from past use of DDT rather than from impurities of more recent applications of other formulated substances. Such outcome thus suggests that the risk of contamination of organic products is likely derived from general environmental pollution levels rather than from the use of unauthorised substances in organic farming productions. Data from a trial with artificial contamination of soils indicated that using the DDT/(DDE + DDD) ratio in the presence of a low level of contamination could be less reliable than in highly contaminated soils.

BackgroundAccording to many scientific studies, ellagitannins are beneficial for human health. One of the sources of these compounds is strawberry press-cake. This material can be used for the production of dietary fiber or ellagitannin preparations. The health safety of press cake and the preparations that are rich in ellagitannins obtained from it depend on pesticide residue levels, mainly fungicides, which are used for strawberry protection.AimThe aim of the work was a dietary risk assessment measured by the %ADI (acceptable daily intake) and MOE (margin of exposure) associated with the presence of pesticide residues for the consumption of strawberry processing by-products containing an amount of ellagitannins equivalent to amount present in 100g of fresh strawberries. In our study, we investigated the contents of pesticides that are approved for use against strawberry diseases and pests.ResultsThe total contents of pesticides in strawberry press-cake seeds (SPCS), exhausted strawberry flesh (ESF) and strawberry ellagitannin preparation (SEP) were 2143, 13,464 and 20,225μg/kg, respectively. The analyzed products were dominated by fungicides as 96% of the total content of the tested pesticides. In the tested samples, we detected 11 fungicides and 3 insecticides. The dietary risk to consumer health, which depends on the presence of pesticide residues, in %ADI of daily consumption of ellagitannins (as dried extract (SEP), seeds (SPCS) or flesh (ESF)) ranged from 0.2% to 4.1% in a dose that was equivalent to 100g of strawberries.ConclusionAlthough the pesticide residue contents in strawberry by-products are higher than in fresh fruits, the suggested doses of the by-products are lower. Therefore, the dietary risk to consumers from strawberry by-products is comparable to that from fresh fruits