Food safety: modern methods of multicomponent determination of pesticides

Abstract

Introduction. Analytical control of chemical contamination is essential in ensuring the safety of food products manufactured using pesticides. The development and testing of new methodological techniques for multicomponent measurement of the levels of residual amounts of biologically active ingredients are constantly in the field of view of analysts. Research objectives. To assess the suitability of the QuEChERS methodological approaches for the determination of a wide range of pesticides of various structures and physicochemical properties (up to 50 names of active substances) in food products and food raw materials of various compositions and origins (fruits, vegetables, cereals, rice, tea, coffee, milk, eggs and their derivatives, meat, offal). Material and methods. The measurements were carried out by tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with a mass-selective detector, focused on screening and quantifying trace amounts of pesticides. The sample preparation procedure for analysis was carried out according to the QuEChERS method. Results. Multimethods have been created for the determination of residual amounts of pesticides in cereal grains (40 substances), fruits of vegetables and fruits (27 compounds), fruits of citrus crops (50 ingredients), 2,4-D acid in milk, eggs and by-products, fipronil and its toxic metabolite - sulfone in eggs, products of their processing (melange, dry egg white), muscle tissue and offal. The developments have supplemented the list of certified measurement methods included in the unified information fund of measurement methods of the Russian Federation. Conclusions. The unification of analytical methods for preparing samples of food products of various composition and origin for analysis, instrumentation of analytical laboratories with liquid and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry systems expand the possibilities of introducing group methods, ensure the readiness of testing centres to perform multi-purpose tests to identify and measure pesticide levels.