Herbicide residues vis-à-vis food safety

Abstract

Applied all over the world, herbicides play a significant role in enhancing food production. However, their misuse has often led to environmental contamination because of their persistence, mobility, their consequent long-term adverse effects on living organisms in general and human health in particular. For these reasons it is essential to monitor and analyse herbicide residues in food, water and soil. The analysis of food samples for the presence of herbicides causes lot of difficulties in consideration of specificity of sample preparation based on multistage operations of purification of sample containing vestigial amount of analyte with simultaneous large amount of interferences. The advances in extraction-cleanup methods and instrumental techniques for estimation of herbicide residues from food matrix are discussed. Food safety to consumer is given due consideration while registration of a herbicide product by setting maximum residue limits (MRLs) at International and National level. Science based measures are taken for assessing herbicide residue risk to the consumers and the same are discussed. In view of the stringent authorisation procedure for herbicides and the conservative approach to MRL setting, it is highlighted that residues at or below the established MRLs do not cause any harm to human health.