Dissipation of insect growth regulators in fresh and canned fruits

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the dissipation of insect growth regulators in fresh and canned mandarin and apricot to determine the exposure to them. Field studies were carried out in the preharvest period with good agricultural practices (GAP) and in critical agricultural practices. The processing studies were carried out in each relevant step in a pilot plant. A validated methodology was developed (limit of quantification of 0.05 mg kg−1 for apricots, 0.10 mg kg−1 for mandarin) including acetone–dichloromethane extraction, cleanup, and liquid chromatography-diode array detection. The pesticides complied with the maximum residue limits (MRLs) except pyriproxyfen, which has not been authorized in apricots, and it did not comply with its MRL for peaches. The dissipation rates (t 1/2) with GAP were fenoxycarb-apricot > pyriproxyfen-apricot > fenoxycarb-mandarin > pyriproxyfen-mandarin. In the processing studies, there was only residue transference in the canning of apricots. All final cans contained residues much lower than the MRLs.