Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study proposes an integrated human health risk assessment framework combining analytical verification, regulatory compliance, deterministic dietary exposure assessment, and probabilistic modeling. Pesticide residues were determined in 100 potato samples using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method coupled with ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, targeting 130 active substances according to SANTE/11312/2021. Fifteen pesticides were quantified (≥LOQ [limit of quantification]) and included in the risk assessment. Quantifiable residues occurred in 35% of samples, with imidacloprid being the most frequently detected pesticide. Although several residues exceeded European maximum residue limits, all individual hazard quotients remained below 1. The cumulative hazard index (HI) was 0.223 for adults and 0.988 for children/adolescents, with seven pesticides accounting for nearly 90% of the HI associated with quantified residues. A middle‐bound (LOQ/2) approach applied to 103 pesticides below the LOQ increased total deterministic HI values to 0.309 and 1.37 for adults and children/adolescents, respectively. Monte Carlo simulation integrating major, minor, and below‐LOQ contributors showed that cumulative HI remained below 1 across the evaluated percentiles (P90–P99), reaching 0.198 for adults and 0.902 for children/adolescents at P99. Sensitivity analysis highlighted the importance of exposure and uncertainty associated with below‐LOQ residues. These findings highlight the greater vulnerability of younger consumers and the value of probabilistic approaches for dietary risk assessment integrating exposure variability, analytical uncertainty, and below‐LOQ residues.