A rapid, multiresidue procedure utilizing the minimal cleanup necessary for gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) analysis is presented. The samples are extracted with acetone and partitioned with methylene chloride-petroleum ether to remove water. The organophosphorus and organonitrogen compounds are then quantitated by GLC, using a KCI thermionic detector. A Florisil cleanup of the extract is performed prior to the determination of organochlorine compounds by a GLC electron capture detector. Carbon-hydrogen compounds such as biphenyl and o-phenylphenol undergo the Florisil cleanup and may also be quantitated by GLC. Quantitative recoveries for 15 organophosphorus, 9 organochlorine, 5 organonitrogen, and 2 hydrocarbon pesticides show the range in polarities of pesticides recovered, from Monitor to biphenyl. The method is simple and fast with a great potential for the analysis of many more compounds.

The multiresidue procedure of Luke et al., which uses extraction with acetone and partition with petroleum ether and methylene chloride, was simplified and shortened by eliminating the Florisil cleanup. Double concentration with petroleum ether in the Kuderna-Danish evaporator following the initial concentration removed the last traces of methylene chloride. The extract was then injected into a gas chromatograph, using a Hall electrolytic conductivity detector for organohalogen, organonitrogen, and organosulfur pesticides or a flame photometric detector for organophosphorus pesticides. Recoveries of 79 pesticides are presented.

No abstract

During a 5 year period from 1982 to 1986, the FDA Los Angeles District Laboratory analyzed 19 851 samples of domestic and imported food and feed commodities for pesticide residues. A single, rapid, multiresidue method was used. The resultant data have been compiled showing the commodities sampled and the identity and range of levels of pesticide residues detected, including an indication of those residue findings that did not comply with U.S. federal tolerance levels. The residue data presented should not be viewed as being representative of the U.S. food supply; rather, the results are indicative of a surveillance- and compliance-oriented sampling of various food shipments collected by the Los Angeles District.

Nearly 20 000 samples of food and feed commodities were analyzed for pesticide residues by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Los Angeles District Laboratory during the 5-year study period 1981- 1986. The resultant data base has been summarized to provide separate residue information for domestic and imported samples. The overall violation rates for domestic and imported samples collected on a surveillance basis were 3.0 and 2.6%, respectively. For domestic and imported samples collected on a compliance basis, the overall violation rates were 19.7 and 17.5%, respectively.