Pesticide Residues in Vegetables from Provinces Around Tonle Sap Lake

Abstract

Vegetables are an integral part of the Cambodian diet. The increase in consumption of vegetables together with the rapid population growth has led to the increase of the use of agricultural pesticides, which cause concerns about their negative impact on the environment and food safety. Samples of vegetables from different farms located in five provinces around Tonle Sap Lake were obtained and screened for the presence of residual pesticides using gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Among the samples analyzed, the yardlong bean from Battambang province was found to be the most contaminated with pesticide residues with nine different active compounds detected. Fluquinconazole (fungicide), dimethametryn (herbicide), and mevinphos (insecticide) were most frequently detected in the tested samples. Metalaxyl was found in spinach samples from the Sangker River (67.6 ng/g) and pea eggplants harvested from Chhnok Tru (38.7 ng/g). Pyroquilon was found in three tested vegetables, namely, cabbage (109.8 ng/g), yardlong bean (91.4 ng/g) from the Sangker River, and eggplants (92.8 ng/g) from Chhnok Tru. The presence of these residual pesticides in vegetables that are sold in local markets poses health risks to farmers and consumers; hence, proper regulation and management of the use of pesticides should be put in place.