Abstract
Pesticides are commonly used to control pests during crop production to increase productivity. In this study, we investigated the effects of washing methods on indoxacarb (pesticide) levels in Welsh onions. Welsh onions exposed to indoxacarb at a concentration threefold higher (0.3 kg a.i./ha) than the recommended rate were processed using five washing methods: running washing (RW), immersive washing (IW), RW after IW (IW-RW), RW after IW with vegetable wash (IW/VW-RW), and industrial washing (AS-IW). Among the washing methods, AS-IW showed the highest reduction rate of 70.8-81.9%. Simple water washing reduced pesticide residues, with longer times and higher frequencies resulting in greater reductions. Acute exposure assessment revealed that the percentage of acute reference dose (%ARfD) for all age and sex groups decreased from 0.59 to 0.96% before washing to 0.11-0.76% after washing, confirming reduced pesticide risk. Conclusively, washing effectively reduces pesticide residues in Welsh onions and lower pesticide-related health risks.