Plant-based foods dominate human neonicotinoids exposure in China, with Rice as the primary pathway

The widespread use of neonicotinoids (NEOs) in agriculture production has led to their pervasive presence in various plant-based foodstuffs and environments matrices. However, how humans are exposed to NEOs via diet remains poorly understood. Here, we provide the first comprehensive evidence of NEOs across multiple external exposure pathways in China, including rice, drinking water, fruits, vegetables, meats, milk, and indoor dust (all samples, n = 567). Our results identified rice as the primary external exposure source, accounting for 49% of the total daily intake, significantly surpassing vegetables and fruits. We further quantified the concentrations of four NEOs in rice samples collected from 31 provinces across seven geographical regions of China. Overall, NEOs were detected in 83% of rice samples, with concentrations ranging from