MONITORING OF PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN VEGETABLES COLLECTED FROM MARKETS OF SINDH, PAKISTAN

• Published in: Food science and technology letters Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 41
• Main Authors: Sheikh, S A, Nizamani, S M, Panhwar, A A, Mirani, B N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Allium cepa; Brassica; Lycopersicon esculentum; Momordica charantia; Pakistan; Pakistan, Sindh; Japan
• ISSN: 0976-9838

In this paper, pesticide residues were determined in marketed samples of different vegetables. Samples were collected from different markets of southern Sindh during 2012-2013. Residues were extracted with QuEChERS method and were analyzed with Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry Detector. However, emamectin benzoate and imidacloprid were analyzed with High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Ultraviolet detector. Results showed that seven vegetables namely okra, bitter gourd, brinjal, tomato, onion, cauliflower, and chilies, were heavily contaminated with chlorpyrifos, profenofos, endosulfan, imidacloprid, emamectin benzoate, lufenuron, bifenthrin, diafenthiuron, and cypermethrin. Moreover, every vegetable was contaminated with more than one pesticide and majority of samples violated the Japanese MRLs. The present study recommends that vegetables may be washed thoroughly prior to use and water may be changed after each vegetable wash or washing of vegetables may be done under running tap water in order to minimize pesticide contamination.