Removal and Degradation of Fungicides in Fruits: A Critical Review of Traditional and Emerging Decontamination Approaches

ABSTRACT

Fungicides are indispensable for ensuring global fruit production, yet the widespread detection of toxic residues in market fruits has raised significant public health concerns. This critical review provides a comprehensive evaluation of intervention strategies for fungicide decontamination in fruits, establishing a clear distinction between approaches that remove fungicides from the fruit surface and those that accelerate their degradation in situ. Analysis of dissipation data reveals that degradation rates are profoundly influenced by the fruit matrix, fungicide class, and storage conditions, with cold storage dramatically prolonging fungicide persistence. Significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the identity and potential toxicity of fungicide degradation products in fruits. Among removal methods, peeling is the most effective (59%–100%), whereas alkaline solutions, such as NaHCO ₃ , hot water treatments, and oxidizing agents, such as ozone and NaClO, show superior washing efficacy over acidic and neutral solutions. For accelerating in situ degradation, thermal processing, such as canning, boiling, and baking, is highly effective for processed fruits, whereas emerging technologies like plasma‐activated water degrade up to 89% of residues. The most promising frontier involves natural compounds, such as kojic acid and melatonin, which induce glutathione S ‐transferase (GST) expression to achieve >90% degradation rates for multiple fungicides. By critically comparing the advantages and limitations of the reported approaches, this review provides a framework for developing safer and more effective decontamination technologies to mitigate fungicide residues in fruits.