Table 1.
Distribution of halogenated pesticide residues quantified in 11 food items from the 3 largest cities of Cameroon.
| Sr. No. | Pesticide Residue | Chemical Class | IARC Group | Application | Banned in Cameroon? | Number of Positive Samples | Percent of Positive Samples (%) | Number of Positive Food Items | Lowest Residue Value (mg/kg) | Highest Residue Value (mg/kg) | Mean Residue Value (mg/kg) | Median Residue Value (mg/kg) | 95th Percentile (mg/kg) | Number of Samples >MRLs | Percent of Positive Samples > MRLs (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alachlor | Phenylamides | Herbicide | Yes | 35 | 21.9 | 6 | 0.0240 | 5.8116 | 0.3532 | 0.0684 | 1.0893 | 35 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | Aldrin | Organochlorines | 2A | Insecticide | Yes | 136 | 85.0 | 11 | 0.0051 | 0.3240 | 0.0291 | 0.0144 | 0.1131 | 48 | 35.3 |
| 3 | Bifenthrin | Pyrethroid | Insecticide | No | 83 | 51.9 | 11 | 0.0072 | 0.5691 | 0.0674 | 0.0246 | 0.2457 | 30 | 36.1 | |
| 4 | Captan | Phtalimides | 3 | Fungicide | No | 110 | 68.8 | 10 | 0.0345 | 0.4818 | 0.0897 | 0.0522 | 0.3309 | 26 | 23.6 |
| 5 | Chlorothalonil | Chloronitrile | 2B | Fungicide | No | 106 | 66.3 | 10 | 0.0057 | 0.2550 | 0.0165 | 0.0101 | 0.0469 | 13 | 12.3 |
| 6 | Cyhalothrin | Pyrethroids | Insecticide | No | 31 | 19.4 | 7 | 0.0111 | 0.8235 | 0.1258 | 0.0756 | 0.4931 | 14 | 45.2 | |
| 7 | Cypermethrin | Pyrethroids | Insecticide | No | 53 | 33.1 | 7 | 0.0114 | 1.8439 | 0.0885 | 0.0312 | 0.2053 | 3 | 5.7 | |
| 8 | Deltamethrin | Pyrethroids | 3 | Insecticide | No | 29 | 18.1 | 7 | 0.0117 | 0.5979 | 0.0964 | 0.0370 | 0.3343 | 2 | 6.9 |
| 9 | Dieldrin | Organochlorines | 2A | Insecticide | Yes | 54 | 33.8 | 7 | 0.0033 | 0.2871 | 0.0247 | 0.0083 | 0.0986 | NA | NA |
| 10 | Endrin | Organochlorines | 3 | Insecticide | No | 42 | 26.3 | 8 | 0.0039 | 0.0540 | 0.0190 | 0.0134 | 0.0458 | NA | NA |
| 11 | Heptachlor | Organochlorines | 2B | Insecticide | Yes | 40 | 25.0 | 9 | 0.0048 | 0.3993 | 0.0544 | 0.0117 | 0.2810 | 22 | 55.0 |
| 12 | HCB | Organochlorines | 2B | Fungicide | No | 99 | 61.9 | 10 | 0.0051 | 0.8904 | 0.0330 | 0.0090 | 0.1162 | 40 | 40.4 |
| 13 | Methoxychlor | Organochlorines | 3 | Insecticide | No | 34 | 21.3 | 8 | 0.0351 | 7.2504 | 0.5823 | 0.2064 | 1.8143 | 30 | 88.2 |
| 14 | o,p’-DDT | Organochlorines | 2A | Insecticide | Yes | 89 | 55.6 | 10 | 0.0078 | 0.0366 | 0.0143 | 0.0120 | 0.0329 | NA | NA |
| 15 | p,p’-DDD | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 24 | 15.0 | 7 | 0.0032 | 0.2193 | 0.0322 | 0.0105 | 0.1818 | NA | NA | |
| 16 | p,p’-DDE | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 80 | 50.0 | 8 | 0.0039 | 0.1392 | 0.0113 | 0.0060 | 0.0276 | NA | NA | |
| 17 | p,p’-DDT | Organochlorines | 2A | Insecticide | Yes | 131 | 81.9 | 10 | 0.0087 | 0.1770 | 0.0507 | 0.0486 | 0.0964 | NA | NA |
| 18 | α-endosulfan | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 63 | 39.4 | 10 | 0.0060 | 0.1617 | 0.0287 | 0.0233 | 0.0641 | NA | NA | |
| 19 | β-Endosulfan | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 9 | 5.6 | 5 | 0.0045 | 0.0408 | 0.0178 | 0.0141 | 0.0370 | NA | NA | |
| 20 | β-HCH | Organochlorines | 2A | Insecticide | Yes | 116 | 72.5 | 11 | 0.0048 | 1.5567 | 0.0864 | 0.0372 | 0.2921 | 91 | 78.4 |
| 21 | Ʃdieldrin | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 139 | 86.9 | 11 | 0.0045 | 0.3552 | 0.0381 | 0.0198 | 0.1442 | 61 | 43.9 | |
| 22 | ƩDDT | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 153 | 95.6 | 11 | 0.0063 | 0.3364 | 0.0627 | 0.0573 | 0.1251 | 74 | 48.4 | |
| 23 | ƩEndosulfan | Organochlorines | Insecticide | Yes | 67 | 41.9 | 10 | 0.006 | 0.185 | 0.030 | 0.024 | 0.064 | 4 | 6.0 |
HCB = hexachlorobenzene, HCH = hexachlorocyclohexane, DEE = dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, DDD = dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, DDT = dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. ƩDDT = p,p’-DDT + op’-DDT + pp’-DDD + pp’-DDE. Ʃdieldrin = aldrin + dieldrin. Ʃendosulfan= α-endosulfan + β-endosulfan. NA = Not applicable, because it doesn’t exist, maximum residue limit of individual compounds.