Department of Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, R. Cel. Antonio Luis 1161, 63105000, Crato, CE, Brazil.
Department of Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, R. Cel. Antonio Luis 1161, 63105000, Crato, CE, Brazil; Science and Technology Center, Federal University of Cariri, Av. Ten Raimundo Rocha 1639, 63048080, Juazeiro Do Norte, CE, Brazil.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Jul 1;197:110627. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110627. Epub 2020 Apr 14.
Pesticides are part of a large group of organic compounds with different physicochemical characteristics, designed to control and prevent pests in various crops and plantations, improving productivity. This works provides a perspective on pesticide use in current agriculture with the aim of identifying the influence of pesticides on food production and their impact on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to highlight the importance of determining pesticide residues in food, aiming to ensure food safety, since these compounds can represent risks to human health and the environment. The effects of pesticides on humans range from headaches, nausea and skin and eye irritation to chronic problems such as cancer and neurological disorders, and extend to other non-target organisms such as birds, fish and bees, contaminating water, soil, and plants, as opposed to the benefits of increased production, consequently other measures for pesticide consumption need to be evaluate to ensure human health, food safety and environmental protection. It is important to note that chromatographic techniques and mass spectrometry assist in the determination of pesticide residues and evaluate the quality of the food that reaches the consumer, and together with the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), established by the legislation of each country, these instrumentation act to control the exposure of population to pesticides. Although the MRL is used as a parameter for food quality, the global differences in pesticide legislation do not guarantee the consumer safety. In this sense, a brief analysis of MRL inefficiency is also present in this paper.
农药是具有不同物理化学特性的一大类有机化合物的一部分，旨在控制和预防各种作物和种植园中害虫，提高生产力。本文从当前农业的角度探讨了农药的使用，旨在确定农药对粮食生产的影响及其对环境的影响。因此，有必要强调确定食品中农药残留的重要性，旨在确保食品安全，因为这些化合物可能对人类健康和环境构成风险。农药对人类的影响从头痛、恶心和皮肤、眼睛刺激到癌症和神经紊乱等慢性问题不等，还会延伸到鸟类、鱼类和蜜蜂等其他非目标生物，污染水、土壤和植物，与增加产量的好处相反，因此需要评估其他农药消费措施，以确保人类健康、食品安全和环境保护。需要注意的是，色谱技术和质谱分析有助于确定农药残留，并评估到达消费者的食品质量，与各国立法规定的最大残留限量 (MRL) 一起，这些仪器可用于控制人群接触农药。尽管 MRL 被用作食品质量的参数，但全球农药立法的差异并不能保证消费者的安全。在这方面，本文还简要分析了 MRL 的效率低下问题。
