Applicability of a Carbamate Insecticide Multiresidue Method for Determining Additional Types of Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

Several fruits and vegetables were fortified at a low (0.02-0.5 ppm) and at a high (0.1-5 ppm) level with pesticides and with a synergist, and recoveries were determined. Analyses were performed by using 3 steps of a multiresidue method for determining N-methylcarbamates in crops: methanol extraction followed by removal of plant co-extractives by solvent partitioning and chromatography with a charcoal-silanized Celite column. Eleven compounds were determined by using a high performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a reverse phase column and a fluorescence detector. Twelve additional compounds were determined by using a gas-liquid chromatograph equipped with a nonpolar packed column and an electron capture or flame photometric detector. Recoveries of 10 pesticides (azinphos ethyl, azinphos methyl, azinphos methyl oxygen analog, carbaryl, carbofuran, naphthalene acetamide, naphthalene acetic acid methyl ester, napropamide, phosalone, and phosalone oxygen analog) and the synergist piperonyl butoxide, which were determined by high performance liquid chromatography, averaged 100% (range 86-117) at the low fortification level and 102% (range 93-115) at the high fortification level. Quantitative recovery of naphthalene acetamide through the method required that an additional portion of eluting solution be passed through the charcoal column. Recoveries of 7 additional pesticides (dimethoate, malathion, methyl parathion, mevinphos, parathion, phorate oxygen analog, and pronamide), which were determined by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), averaged 108% (range 100-120) at the low fortification level and 107% (range 99-122) at the high fortification level. DDT, diazinon, dieldrin, phorate, and pirimiphos ethyl, which were determined by GLC, were not quantitatively recovered.