Chlorpyrifos in Egyptian cumin exceeds EU limits hundreds of times over

Cumin grown in three of Egypt’s main producing governorates carries pesticide residues that frequently breach European Union limits, with the insecticide chlorpyrifos exceeding the EU maximum residue limit of 0.01 mg/kg by several hundred-fold, according to an open access study published on 11 June 2026 in the journal Food Safety and Risk. The research, led by Tarek A. El-Desouky, analyzed 30 cumin seed samples collected in 2024 from smallholder farms in Minya, Assiut, and Gharbia, ten independent farms per governorate, and detected 28 pesticides in total, more than 75 percent of which exceeded EU maximum residue limits.

The samples were gathered during the harvesting season, with seeds collected at full physiological maturity from multiple plants within each field to capture on-farm variability. Each composite farm sample weighed roughly 500 grams and was sun-dried immediately after harvest to keep moisture within the recommended 10 to 13 percent range. Analysis took place at Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center laboratories, specifically the Central Agricultural Pesticides Laboratory and the Pesticide Residues and Environmental Pollution Department, using a multi-residue approach combining GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS with the QuEChERS extraction method, adapted for the low-moisture spice matrix through a rehydration step before extraction.

The analytical method operated under an ISO/IEC 17025:2017-accredited quality system. The limit of quantification was set at 0.01 mg/kg or lower for all pesticides, matching EU regulatory requirements where many maximum residue limits sit at or near that threshold. Recovery experiments at three fortification levels of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/kg, each run in five replicates, produced mean recoveries between 70 and 120 percent, with relative standard deviations below 20 percent, criteria consistent with the internationally accepted SANTE/12682/2019 guidelines for pesticide residue analysis.

Chlorpyrifos dominated the residue profile in all three governorates. The study reports mean concentrations of 4.937 mg/kg in Minya, 4.560 mg/kg in Assiut, and 5.636 mg/kg in Gharbia, against an EU maximum residue limit of 0.01 mg/kg, an exceedance of more than 450-fold. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that inhibits acetylcholinesterase and is no longer approved for agricultural use in the European Union, being banned or strictly restricted in several countries because of its toxicological risk. Its presence at such levels, the authors note, strongly suggests possible continued or unauthorized use of a prohibited pesticide and non-compliance with Egyptian regulations under the National Food Safety Authority framework as well as international standards.

Gharbia emerged as the contamination hotspot, showing higher overall residue levels than Minya and Assiut, a pattern the study attributes to stronger pesticide pressure or less controlled application practices. Carbendazim, a fungicide subject to restrictions or bans in several jurisdictions including the European Union due to reproductive toxicity and environmental persistence, was notably higher in Gharbia than in the other two regions. Systemic insecticides such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam were widely detected across all regions, consistent with their common use against sap-sucking pests like aphids and weevils, while fungicides including azoxystrobin and difenoconazole appeared everywhere but with variable distribution. Cyfluthrin and diazinon were found only at very low levels, with diazinon observed solely in Minya.

Comparing detected levels against EU maximum residue limits, the study found that acetamiprid, azoxystrobin, carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and metalaxyl frequently exceeded permissible limits, pointing to overuse or non-compliance with recommended agricultural practices. Boscalid, cyfluthrin, diazinon, dimethomorph, and profenofos remained below EU limits in all regions. In the conclusion, the study highlights Minya as showing the highest number of non-compliant residues, including imidacloprid at 2.044 mg/kg and difenoconazole at 2.366 mg/kg.

The health risk assessment used a deterministic model based on an average daily cumin consumption of 5 grams and an adult body weight of 60 kg. The estimated daily intake for each pesticide was calculated from mean residue concentrations, then divided by the acceptable daily intake drawn from FAO/WHO or EPA guidelines to yield a hazard quotient, where a value at or above 1.0 signals potential health concern. Chlorpyrifos produced the highest hazard quotients in every region: 4.11 in Minya, 3.80 in Assiut, and 4.7 in Gharbia, all well above the safety threshold. The authors link these elevated values to potential neurotoxic effects and call for stringent monitoring and mitigation.

Summing hazard quotients across all detected pesticides produced hazard index values above the safety threshold of 1.0 everywhere: 4.7480 in Gharbia, 4.1446 in Minya, and 3.8386 in Assiut. Chlorpyrifos accounted for the largest share of the cumulative index in each region. The study notes that pesticides including boscalid, cyfluthrin, metalaxyl, and trifloxystrobin showed hazard quotients well below 1.0, indicating negligible risk at current exposure levels, while difenoconazole, imidacloprid, and profenofos fell into a moderate-risk category warranting continued surveillance. The authors also flag that the potential risks are considerable for vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women, who are more susceptible to pesticide exposure.

The findings align with earlier research. A 2025 Egyptian analysis of 9,963 samples across 20 medicinal and aromatic plants found that 7.8 percent of cumin samples exceeded EU limits, with chlorpyrifos among the most frequently detected compounds. Elevated chlorpyrifos levels in agricultural products from Gharbia were reported previously, and imidacloprid, azoxystrobin, and difenoconazole have been detected in Egyptian produce before. Internationally, Indian cumin samples have generally shown residues below international limits, in contrast to the higher exceedances here, while a multi-country survey found 81 percent of spice samples contained pesticide residues with frequent multi-residue occurrences.

The study carries important limitations. Sampling covered only three governorates and a single production season, so results may not represent all Egyptian cumin-growing areas or capture year-to-year variation. The exposure model relied on fixed assumptions for intake and body weight that may not reflect variability across population groups, and the assessment addressed chronic non-carcinogenic risk from measured residues without biomonitoring data or exposure from other dietary sources. The authors recommend strengthened enforcement of maximum residue limits, routine monitoring programs, farmer training on safe application and pre-harvest intervals, and adoption of Integrated Pest Management and biopesticides to reduce reliance on hazardous chemicals and protect both domestic consumers and export markets.

Subject of Research: Pesticide residues and dietary health risk assessment in cumin from three cumin-producing governorates in Egypt

Article Title: Pesticide residues and dietary risk assessment in cumin from three key cumin-producing governorates in Egypt

Article References: El-Desouky, T. A. (2026). Pesticide residues and dietary risk assessment in cumin from three key cumin-producing governorates in Egypt. Food Safety and Risk, 13(1), Article 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40550-026-00153-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40550-026-00153-1

Keywords: pesticide residues, cumin, Egypt, chlorpyrifos, maximum residue limits, food safety, hazard quotient, hazard index, GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, QuEChERS, dietary risk assessment