A Market Survey of Pesticide Residues in Fruit Juices in Slovenia in 2026

Although the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) encourages the monitoring of pesticide residues in food, only 8.4% of processed fruit samples were monitored in the EU in 2023. In addition, the literature mainly focuses on pesticide residues in fruit rather than in juices. In the present study, 91 fruit juice samples were analyzed using GC-MS/MS for the presence of 32 active substances. The validated analytical method used was compliant with SANTE/11312/2021. Of the samples inspected, 29.7% were positive for at least one of the 32 targeted substances, while 6.6%, or 1.1, after calculation refinement by an alternative scenario, potentially exceeded the Maximum Residue Level (MRL). Potential MRL exceedances of fluopyram in table grape and mango, kresoxim-methyl in apple, tebuconazole in mango, and trifloxystrobin in apple did not pose a chronic or acute risk to consumers. Acute risk to consumers was theoretically calculated for apples containing tebuconazole. After calculation refinement by an alternative scenario, no acute risk was theoretically observed.