Multi-residue determination of pesticides in the meat of cattle in Faisalabad-Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of study was to determine the contamination in the meat and organs of cattle reared in pesticide spraying areas of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Because no such published information is available in this region. The meat and organs such as liver, lung and kidney were collected from villages situated within the radius of 25-35 Km on four different localities (Pensara, Aminpur, Jaranwala, and Sheikhupura roads) in the Northeast and Southwest of city during winter and spring seasons of 2009. Five pesticides (cyhalothrin, endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and methyl parathion) were analyzed in the collected meat and organs (n=600) with solid phase microextraction and high performance liquid chromatography techniques. The residue analysis revealed that about 13, 21, 4, and 2 % muscle samples were contaminated with chlorpyrifos, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and endosulfan, respectively. The concentration (ppm) of Chlorpyrifos (0.373 ± 0.001 vs. 0.297 ± 0.006), cypermethrin (2.962 ± 0.003 vs. 1.789 ± 0.228), endosulfan (12.938 ±0.007 vs. 14.487 ± 4.497) and cyhalothrin residues (4.521 ± 1.143 vs. 4.790 ± 0.933) were non-significantly different (p>0.05) in north east and southwest direction, respectively. Similarly, the levels of these pesticides were non significantly different in spring and winter seasons. Parathion-methyl was not detected in muscle samples. The same trend of pesticide contamination was observed in the kidney samples. Three pesticides (chlorpyrifos, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin were detected in liver and lung samples while endosulfan and parathion methyl were only detected in traces. Pesticides residues in muscle and organs were found higher than the Maximum Residual Limit (MRL) established by the international health regulatory agencies. Comparative results have indicated that chlorpyrifos, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and endosulfan residues in muscles were about 34 times, 23 times, 47 times, and 27 times, respectively, higher than the MRL. These findings alarm a threat to the public health and suggest the need to create awareness in dairy farmers regarding the avoidance of pesticide residues in meat. (This work was supported by the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan.)