Simultaneous determination of 78 pesticide residues and 16 mycotoxins in tsampa by an improved QuEChERS method coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Tsampa may contain pesticide residues and mycotoxins, which may pose a risk to human health. Currently, pesticide detection and mycotoxin detection are two independent experiments. To improve the efficiency of the analysis, a method based on QuEChERS combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of 78 pesticides and 16 mycotoxins in tsampa was developed. All the target compounds showed good linear correlation with correlation coefficients (R2) greater than 0.9990. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the ranges of 0.10-3.00 μg kg-1 and 0.40-10.00 μg kg-1, respectively. The average recoveries of the pesticides and mycotoxins spiked at the 1, 2, and 10-fold LOQ were in the range of 73.0-115.2%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were lower than 11.7%. This method was applied to 19 batches of real samples in which 32% of samples exceeded the maximum residue limits of the European Union involving aflatoxin G2, ochratoxin A, and hexaconazole. It proved to be excellent, efficient, greatly simplified, and highly applicable, which could reduce the workload and time significantly for the daily monitoring of the pesticides and mycotoxins in tsampa.

Pesticide-Residue Analysis in Soils by the QuEChERS Method: A Review

Pesticides are among the most important contaminants worldwide due to their wide use, persistence, and toxicity. Their presence in soils is not only important from an environmental point of view, but also for food safety issues, since such residues can migrate from soils to food. However, soils are extremely complex matrices, which present a challenge to any analytical chemist, since the extraction of a wide range of compounds with diverse physicochemical properties, such as pesticides, at trace levels is not an easy task. In this context, the QuEChERS method (standing for quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) has become one of the most green and sustainable alternatives in this field due to its inherent advantages, such as fast sample preparation, the minimal use of hazardous reagents and solvents, simplicity, and low cost. This review is aimed at providing a critical revision of the most relevant modifications of the QuEChERS method (including the extraction and clean-up steps of the method) for pesticide-residue analysis in soils.

Analysis of pesticide residues in fresh peppermint, Mentha piperita L., using the quick easy cheap effective rugged and safe method (QuEChERS) followed by gas chromatography with electron capture and nitrogen phosphorus detection

A new analytical method for the determination of 14 pesticide residues in fresh peppermint was developed based on the QuEChERS sample preparation technique followed by gas chromatography coupled to electron capture and nitrogen phosphorus detectors (GC/ECD/NPD). The validation study clearly demonstrated suitability of the method for its intended application. The overall recoveries of the pesticides from peppermint, at the three spiking levels of 0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 mg kg(-1), were 100% ± 10% with relative standard deviations of 6% ± 5% on average. The limit of quantification was 0.01 mg kg(-1) for all the pesticides. The expanded uncertainties were in the range between 7% and 30% (14% on average), which was distinctively less than a maximum default value of ±50%. Compared with our previous method, that entailed dichloromethane/acetone extraction and florisil column cleanup with collection of four fractions, the new method was more straightforward, less time and labour intensive as well as more sensitive, selective and accurate, simultaneously.