A New LC-MS Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Pesticide Residue Removal from Fruit Surfaces by Washing Agents

Abstract

Modern agriculture uses pesticides to improve the quality and quantity of crops. However, pesticide residues can remain on agricultural products, posing very serious risks to human health and life. It is recommended to wash fruits and vegetables before consumption. To assess the removal efficacy of pesticide residue, a sensitive and reliable method based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed and optimized for the simultaneous determination of four pesticide residues (acetamiprid, boscalid, pyraclostrobin, and pendimethalin). Isotope-labeled standards were used to validate the method in terms of recovery, linearity, matrix effects, precision, and sensitivity. The mean recovery values for both low-quality control (LQC) and high-quality control (HQC) transitions were in the range of 89–105%, and the intra-day precision was less than 13.7%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.003 mg/kg and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The proposed method is suitable for evaluating the quality of detergents for removing pesticide residues from fruit surfaces.

Validation of UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS Method for Determining Steviol Glycoside and Its Derivatives in Foods and Beverages

“…For each concentration, a percentage of relative standard deviation (%RSD) is considered with the criterion of about 15% [45]. In addition, a good linearity of the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) > 0.99 is taken into consideration [46]. In this study, the series of mixed standard working solutions (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0 mg L −1 ) was investigated in triplicate using UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS.…”

“…For our single-laboratory analysis using the same equipment, the same staff and either the same day or between days, the percentage of relative standard deviation (%RSDr) and Horwitz ratio (HorRat) were used as performance parameters for the precision of repeatability and reproducibility, respectively. The %RSDr [30] can be calculated as per the below equation, and an accepted range of %RSDr, in accordance with the study concentrations, was set as less than 20% [46].…”

Preharvest Treatments with Low-Risk Plant Protection Products Can Help Apple Growers Fulfill the Demands of Supermarket Chains Regarding Pesticide Residues and Marketing Apples under 0-Residue Brands

“…The treatments with detergent or microbes had fewer intensive effects on the reduction of residue concentrations. In LDC, we expected more significant effects because detergents can loosen the structure of waxes on the apple peel and enable an easier disconnection of pesticide a.s. from the wax structures [39]. This could be important in a.s., which bond strongly with wax (i.e., trifloxystrobin, boscalid, fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, pyrimethanil, and fludioxonil).…”

“…This could be important in a.s., which bond strongly with wax (i.e., trifloxystrobin, boscalid, fluxapyroxad, pyraclostrobin, pyrimethanil, and fludioxonil). In a published study [39], it was proven that detergents have significant potential to remove the mentioned systemic fungicide in storage treatments with dipping apples in a detergent solution for at least 5 min. A high potential of detergents for the removal of residues was presented in the same study [39].…”

“…In a published study [39], it was proven that detergents have significant potential to remove the mentioned systemic fungicide in storage treatments with dipping apples in a detergent solution for at least 5 min. A high potential of detergents for the removal of residues was presented in the same study [39]. The authors treated vegetables with specially in-lab-developed detergents.…”