This study determined residual buprofezin levels in fresh ginseng and evaluated their changes during processing. Supervised field trials were conducted at Yeongju, Geumsan, and Goesan, Korea. Buprofezin 12.5% EC was applied to 5-y ginseng in accordance with the Korean good agriculture practice (GAP). Samples were collected at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 30 d after the final application. On day 14 (GAP-equivalent preharvest date), the ginseng was processed to obtain dried and red ginseng. The average buprofezin concentrations on day 0 were 0.076 (Yeongju), 0.055 (Geumsan), and 0.078 mg kg⁻¹ (Goesan). Residual concentrations increased as ginseng was processed into dried and red ginseng. Residue levels in dried ginseng manufactured by hot air drying were higher than in red ginseng obtained by steaming, hot air, and sunlight drying. However, the absolute amount of pesticides decreased by approximately 20–30% as a result of calculating the reduction factor considering the dry yield and moisture content. Therefore, the residual concentration in processed products may vary depending on the processing method, and it is deemed necessary to consider the processing yield and moisture content when evaluating the safety of residual pesticides in dried processed products.

Pesticides which are diluted and sprayed according to the pre-harvest interval (PHI) are generally decomposed and lost through various factors and pathways, and the leftover pesticides are known as residual pesticides. This study aims to determine the dissipation of residual amounts of dinotefuran, fluazinam, indoxacarb, and thiacloprid in persimmon and the changes in the concentration of various processing products. Pesticide spraying is performed in accordance with the GAP (good agricultue practice) of Korea, and the processed products are manufactured using a conventional method after removing the skin of persimmons. The modified QuEchERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method and an optimized method using LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography mass spectrometry) is implemented to analyze the residual pesticides. The linearity, recovery, and LOQ (limit of quantitation) are presented to verify the analysis method. The amount of residual pesticides tested decreases significantly in a time-dependent manner, regardless of the minimal dilution effect present due to growth. The residual concentration does not vary significantly during the processing stage despite the removal of the systemic pesticides, dinotefuran and thiacloprid. The residues of non-systemic pesticides, fluazinam and indoxacarb, are typically removed by the peeling removal and processing methods. The reduction factor of dinotefuran, whose residual concentration is increased, is less than 1, and the absolute amount of pesticides is decreased through processing. The results of this study can be used as the scientific basis data to ensure the safety of residual pesticides in processed products in the future.

Global production of fisheries and aquaculture products continues to increase, with the fisheries sector increasingly considered essential for global food security and nutrition. As public demand for seafood increases, implementation of safety management to minimize risks and ensure the safety of seafood products becomes important. This study was conducted to monitor 198 chemicals, comprising 161 pesticides and 37 pesticide metabolites, and to assess their risks in saltwater and freshwater fish in the Republic of Korea, based on the analysis of 471 fishery samples (298 saltwater and 173 freshwater). Among the fifteen saltwater fish species analyzed, pesticides were detected in eight species (croaker, flatfish, sea bass, flounder, snapper, yellow tail, salmon, and gizzard shad) and in all seven freshwater species (carp, catfish, crucian carp, eel, leather carp, loach, and trout). Four pesticides (ethoxyquin, lufenuron, metaflumizone, and propiconazole) were detected in saltwater fish, while nine pesticides (ethoxyquin, ipfencarbazone, isoprothiolane, lufenuron, metaflumizone, oxadiargyl, pendimethalin, phoxim, and trichlorfon) were found in freshwater fish. Ethoxyquin was the most frequently detected pesticide in both fish types, mostly in the form of its metabolite, the ethoxyquin dimer. The estimated daily intake (EDI) was calculated based on the maximum concentrations of pesticides detected and the average consumption of fishery products by sex and age group. The hazard quotients, expressed as a percentage of acceptable daily intake (%ADI) and calculated using the EDI and ADI of the pesticides detected, were evaluated to be no more than 5.6%. These results suggest that consumption of saltwater and freshwater fish in the Republic of Korea poses a low risk to human health. This approach can be applied to pesticide residue monitoring and risk assessment in the fisheries sector, providing valuable data for evaluating contamination levels and supporting the regulation and management of chemical residues.

This study was conducted to monitor 161 pesticides and 37 of their metabolites in cephalopods, crustaceans, seaweeds, and shellfish and to assess their potential risks. A total of 696 types of seafood (227 cephalopods, 56 crustaceans, 189 seaweeds, and 224 shellfish) were collected from local markets across the Republic of Korea and analyzed for pesticide residues using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Pesticide residues were detected only in shrimp among the crustaceans, whereas no residues were found in any species of cephalopods. Pesticide residues in shellfish were detected in abalone, clam, and marsh clam, while in seaweed, they were found in dried laver, dried sea lettuce, and fresh sea mustard. Among seafood products, seaweed had the highest pesticide detection rate of 8.5%, and the residue level of diuron—the most frequently detected insecticide in seaweed—was 0.05 mg/kg. The estimated daily intake (EDI) was calculated using the maximum pesticide concentration in crustaceans, shellfish, cephalopods, and seaweed, along with the seafood consumption by average and the 97.5th-percentile extreme consumers. The percentage of the acceptable daily intake (%ADI), calculated using the EDI and ADI of the pesticide detected, was evaluated to be less than 0.7% for all samples. The results suggest that the consumption of crustaceans, shellfish, cephalopods, and seaweed distributed in the Republic of Korea poses a low risk to human health.

This study aimed to evaluate residue changes in flubendiamide and tebufenozide during the processing of whole grain into milled rice, cooked rice, and rice cake, and to calculate their processing factors (PFs). For the processing study, pesticides were applied at three times the recommended rate based on Korea’s good agricultural practice (GAP), and processed products were prepared using conventional methods. Residual pesticide analysis was performed using a modified QuEChERS method and LC-MS/MS. The residue analysis method was validated based on parameters including LOQ, linearity, and accuracy at the LOQ, 10LOQ, and MRL levels, with the LOQ set at 0.01 mg/kg for all samples. During milling, which removes the hull, more than 90% of the pesticide residues were eliminated. Additional reductions exceeding 50% were observed during cooking and rice cake processing. All PFs, except for those in the hulls, were less than 1, indicating that processing reduces pesticide levels. Despite the use of threefold the GAP rate, the %ADI values for all processed products remained below 1%, suggesting negligible dietary risk. These findings provide scientific evidence supporting the safety of processed rice products regarding pesticide residues and highlight the importance of considering processing effects in dietary exposure assessments.