Monitoring, exposure and risk assessment of sulfur dioxide residues in fresh or dried fruits and vegetables in China.

Sulfur dioxide residues in 20 kinds of products collected from 23 provinces of China (Jilin, Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Neimenggu, Xinjiang and Hainan) were analysed, and a health risk assessment was performed. The detection rates of sulfur dioxide residues in fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, dried vegetables and dried fruits were 11.1-95.9%, 12.6-92.3%, 70.3-80.0% and 26.0-100.0%, respectively; the mean concentrations of residues were 2.7-120.8, 3.8-35.7, 26.9-99.1 and 12.0-1120.4 mg kg-1, respectively. The results indicated that fresh vegetables and dried products are critical products; the daily intakes (EDIs) for children were higher than others; the hazard indexes (HI) for four groups were 0.019-0.033, 0.001-0.005, 0.007-0.016 and 0.002-0.005 at P50, respectively. But the HI was more than 1 at P99 by intake dried fruits and vegetables. Although the risk for consumers was acceptable on the whole, children were the most vulnerable group. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses indicated that the level of sulfur dioxide residues was the most influential variable in this model. Thus, continuous monitoring and stricter regulation of sulfites using are recommended in China.