Research Publications (Food Safety)

EFSA Journal, Volume 20, Issue 9, September 2022. EFSA received a request from the European Commission to provide support for the preparation of the EU position for 53rd Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR).

In this study, an optimized QuEChERS method with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination of mesosulfuron-methyl and diflufenican in wheat grain and straw. At the spiking levels of 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, and 1 mg/kg, the average recoveries of five repetitions were 74–98% with RSDs of 1–11%. The LOQs of the two herbicides were both 0.01 mg/kg for wheat grain and wheat straw.

Aldrin and Mirex are organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) considered toxic to human and animal health. Although their use has been banned for decades, these compounds persist in several environmental and food samples, including honey.

Cypermethrin is an important synthetic pyrethroid pesticide that widely used to control pests in agriculture. However, extensive use has caused its residue and the metabolite 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) to seriously pollute the environments and agricultural products. In this study, a highly efficient cypermethrin-degrading bacterial consortium was acclimated from long-term pyrethroid-contaminated soil.

Synthetic pesticides are extensively and injudiciously applied to control agriculture and household pests worldwide. Due to their high use, their toxic residues have enormously increased in the agroecosystem in the past several years. They have caused many severe threats to non-target organisms, including humans. Therefore, the complete removal of toxic compounds is gaining wide attention to protect the ecosystem and the diversity of living organisms.

The aim of this paper is to develop and validate a method, using GC–MS and QuEChERS, for the determination of fungicide residues in bananas produced and commercialized in the Cariri Region — Ceará/Brazil. The extraction procedure, by the QuEChERS-citrate method, allowed obtaining the matrix extract free of pesticides, used for the analytical curves (matrix-matched calibration).

In the present study, the effects of intermittent ozone (IO3) application combined with low dose fungicide and high-dose dissolved ozone in water on storage life and quality of orange cv. Washington Navel were investigated.

In this work, a magnetic covalent organic framework (COF) named Fe3O4@TpPa-NO2 was designed and synthesized by a solvothermal method employing 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) and 2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine (Pa-NO2) as the organic units. Fe3O4@TpPa-NO2 was explored as an adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) of four pyrethroid insecticides. Fe3O4@TpPa-NO2 displayed excellent adsorption capacity in the adsorption test of pyrethroid insecticides.

The aims of this study were to: i) analyze the prevalence and concentration of pesticides belonging to 4 major classes, namely organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids in chicken meat, liver and kidney; ii) evaluate the impact of boiling, frying and freezing on pesticide levels in chicken meat, and iii) estimate the dietary exposure to pesticide residues in chicken meat and conduct a risk assessment.

In this work, the development of an analytical method for the evaluation of a wide variety of pesticide residues in cereals and pseudo-cereals widely consumed has been carried out. A QuEChERS method was used as extraction and clean-up procedure prior to separation and quantification of the target analytes by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry using a single quadrupole-time-of-flight analyser.

Post-harvest rot causes enormous economic loss to the global kiwifruit industry. Currently, there are no effective fungicides to combat the disease. It is unclear whether silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are effective in controlling post-harvest rot and, if so, what the underlying antifungal mechanism is.

As a first-time study, the thermal storage stabilities of pesticides (bifenthrin, carbofuran, diazinon, methomyl, triflumuron, triadimenol, triazophos, and thiabendazole) in banana homogenate were investigated. Pesticides-spiked banana samples were stored at −20 °C (T1), 4 °C (T2), 25 °C (T3), and 40 °C (T4) and the residues were observed from day 0 to day 84.

The aim of study was to optimize an QuEChERS extraction procedure for simultaneous determination of organic pollutants in aquaculture products. The QuEChERS extracts were measured using LC-HRMS. The target contaminants include 32 pesticides and 20 pharmaceuticals which have not been regulated for the products in Korea. The method was validated according to CODEX guideline (CAC/GL 71–2009).

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. Food processing techniques reduce pesticide residue accumulation in food components. The present study investigated the effectiveness of simple processing techniques, such as roasting, soaking, autoclaving, and storage conditions on 27 selected pesticides belongs to the class of organophosphates (OPs), organochlorines (OCPs), and pyrethroids (PPs) in pesticide fortified cottonseed.

The detection method for flurtamone enantiomers in soil and five farm products (wheat, maize, sorghum, soybeans and pea) was established using modified QuEChERS method combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology was used to optimize the enantioseparation parameters of flurtamone on Chiralpak IG-3 column.

India has achieved its food security through the green revolution and technological revolution, although food safety is still not realized. Subsequently, agricultural runoffs, industrial wastes and domestic sewages continuously contaminate the water and the associated livelihood through several contaminants. Pesticides and their residues, which function as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), influence the food web through water resources, among other things.

The goal of the present study was to estimate the distribution and migration of eleven systemic and non-systemic pesticides between the skin and the pulp of apples. Additionally, the behaviour of acetamiprid, boscalid, bupirimate, cyprodinil, flonicamid, fluopyram, pirimicarb, pyrimethanil, thiacloprid, deltamethrin, and fludioxonil in two apple varieties during four thermal processes ranging between −40 °C and 150 °C was discussed.

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Accepted Article. Background Studies have shown that the consumption of apples has a beneficial effect on cardiovascular diseases and some cancers, largely due to their micronutrient and phytoconstituent contents. Apple peel contains more polyphenols than the flesh but is also likely to contain pesticide residues.

Preparing matrix-matched calibration curves for each matrix type makes multiresidue methods for pesticides determination in foods a labor-intensive endeavor.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has attracted much attention because of its high sensitivity, high speed, and simple sample processing, and has great potential for application in the field of pesticide residue detection.

Esterase, as a type of powerful catabolic enzyme for the degradation of pyrethroid pesticides (PYRs), appears promising in improving the quality of crops and the environment contaminated by pesticide residues. The purpose of this research is to provide a detailed introduction to the enzymatic properties, optimal production and immobilization conditions, and the degradation ability of Est804 for PYRs.

The surface and output of organic agriculture is growing steadily in recent years, being generally seen as a healthier, safer and more sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture. Comparisons between organic and conventional products are nonetheless scarce in the literature, especially in the case of wine.

Reduced glutathione (GSH) is a key antioxidant and redox buffer, which is crucial for carrying out the detoxification of xenobiotics in plants. In the present study, glutathione could reduce chlorothalonil (CHT) residues in tomato by promoting the expression of UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) gene.

The presence of herbicides residues in soil represents a serious problem for agriculture. Quinclorac is a common herbicide applied in rice field, but its residue can cause abnormal growth in successive crop of tobacco in Southern China. Remediation by microorganisms is considered to be an environmentally friendly method to remove such pollutants injury. The aims of this study were to obtain quinclorac remediation isolates and to investigate the possible mechanism(s) of remediation.