Residual dynamics and dietary exposure risk of dimethoate and its metabolite in greenhouse celery

This study aimed to explore the residual dynamics and dietary risk of dimethoate and its metabolite omethoate in celery. Celery was sprayed with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate (EC) at either a low concentration of 600 g a.i./ha or a high concentration of 900 g a.i./ha. Plants in the seedling, transplanting, or middle growth stages were sprayed once, and the samples were collected 90 days after transplantation. Plants in the harvesting stage were sprayed two or three times. The samples were collected on days 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 and 21 after the last pesticide application. The dimethoate and omethoate compounds were extracted from the celery samples using acetonitrile, and their concentrations were detected using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Also, the dietary risk assessments of dimethoate and omethoate were conducted in various populations and on different foods in China. The metabolism led to the formation of omethoate from dimethoate in the celery. The degradation dynamics of dimethoate and total residues in greenhouse celery followed the first-order kinetic equation. The half-lives of the compounds were 2.42 days and 2.92 days, respectively. The celery which received one application during the harvesting stage had a final residue of dimethoate after 14 days, which was lower than the maximum residue limit (MRL) 0.5 mg kg−1 for Chinese celery. The final deposition of the metabolite omethoate after 28 days was less than the maximum residue limit of 0.02 mg kg−1 for Chinese celery. Furthermore, the risk quotients of dimethoate in celery were less than 1; therefore, the level of chronic risk was acceptable after day 21. Only children aged 2–7 years had an HQ of dimethoate more than 1 (an unacceptable level of acute risk), while the acute dietary risks to other populations were within acceptable levels. It was recommended that any dimethoate applications to celery in greenhouses should happen before the celery reached the harvesting stage, with a safety interval of 28 days.