Abstract:Paclobutrazol is a common growth retardant used in vegetable cultivation. In order to understand the risk associated with dietary intake of paclobutrazol residue in vegetables, a supervised residue trial as well as monitoring of the market for potato, tomato, and eggplant was conducted. Chronic risk assessment and acute risk assessment techniques for paclobutrazol residue in vegetables were developed based on the above experimental data, and the recommended maximum residue limit (MRL) for paclobutrazol in vegetables was proposed. The assessment results showed that the national estimated daily intake (NEDI) values of paclobutrazol in vegetables was in the range of 0.040~0.21 μg/(kg bw?d) for all groups of Chinese residents, accounting only for 0.04%~0.21% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The national estimated short-term daily intake (NESTI) was between 0.070~0.95 μg/(kg bw?d), accounting only for 0.07%~0.95% of the acute reference dose (ARfD). The assessment result for the supervised trials was consistent with the results from market monitoring. The chronic dietary intake of paclobutrazol residue in vegetables was very low for all groups of Chinese residents. Despite the variation between the different groups of people and different types of vegetables, the acute risk levels of paclobutrazol residue in vegetables was very low and within an acceptable range. The chronic and acute risk levels were both within an acceptable limit. The recommended paclobutrazol MRL in vegetables was 0.5 mg/kg, which was 12.5~50 times as much as the paclobutrazol exposure levels in all groups of Chinese residents.
