Current strategies for the reduction of pesticide residues in food products

Abstract Pesticides have been extensively used to increase production performance and enhance the shelf life of food products. Pesticide residues in food products are a global concern because their negative impacts on human health depend on the means and amount of exposure. The main routes of pesticide exposure to humans are through food product consumption. In this regard, removing pesticide residues from food products is important to reduce pesticide exposure to humans. Numerous methods have been applied to degrade the pesticide residue from food products. Various household and industrial preparations like washing, blanching, peeling, and thermal treatments have been found effective for reducing pesticide residues. Novel technologies like cold plasma, pulsed electric field, irradiation, ultrasonication have been applied to degrade pesticide residues depending on the type of pesticide and processing parameters. This current article was aimed to provide an overview regarding the application of emerging technologies in the degradation of pesticide residues from different food products.