Determination of desmedipham residue in 21 foods by HPLC-MS/MS combined with a modified QuEChERS and mixed-mode SPE clean-up method

Abstract

The establishment of a qualitative and quantitative method to determine the pesticide residues in agricultural products is an essential tool to ensure food safety and protect consumers against potential health risks. In this study, a method using a modified QuEChERS approach in combination with high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of desmedipham residue in 21 foods, including vegetables (head cabbage, celery, tomato, eggplant, potato, radish, kidney bean, beet), fruits (pear, peach, grape, citrus), cereal grains (rice, wheat, corn), needle mushroom, almond, corn oil, soybean, green tea, and cumin. Parameters that affected the sensitivity and accuracy of the method were optimized. The limit of quantitation of the method for all matrices is 0.01 mg·kg−1, except for tea and spices (0.05 mg·kg−1). The linear working range of this method is 0.025-1 mg·kg−1 (R2 = 0.9912–1.0000), and the recovery ranges from 70 % to 108 % with RSD ≤ 19.6 %. The inter-laboratory validation was conducted following the SANTE standard. The method is suitable for multi-type matrices and has significance for the establishment of standard methods. To ensure food safety and human health, it is necessary to establish and develop an analytical method for the determination of desmedipham.