LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS analysis of pesticide residues in Ecuadorian and Filipino Cavendish bananas imported into Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed AlmutairiTurki AlsaleemHatem Al HerbishAbdullah A Al SayariAbdullah M AlowaifeerPublished in: Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment (2021)
The occurrence of pesticide residues in bananas imported from Ecuador and the Philippines into Saudi Arabia was investigated. Eighty-seven banana samples were purchased from various supermarkets around the country. The conventional QuEChERS method was used to extract 294 pesticides in whole bananas and the analysis was carried out using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS. In total, nine pesticides were detected of which azoxystrobin, carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, imazalil, and thiabendazole were the most frequently found in bananas from both countries. The levels of these pesticides were complaint according to the Saudi Food & Drug Authority's (SFDA) maximum residue levels (MRLs), therefore they cannot be considered a public health problem. Detectable residues of these agrochemicals show that they are used extensively in banana cultivation. The Ecuadorian Agency for Agricultural Quality Assurance (Agrocalidad) and the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) prohibit the use of carbendazim in agriculture, while the Filipino Fertiliser and Pesticide Authority (FPA) allows its use. A legislative comparison of pesticide approval status revealed a lack of consensus between banana exporting and importing countries that could affect food safety and trade.
Keyphrases
- saudi arabia
- risk assessment
- ms ms
- human health
- gas chromatography
- public health
- heavy metals
- liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
- climate change
- mass spectrometry
- tandem mass spectrometry
- oxidative stress
- high performance liquid chromatography
- multidrug resistant
- single cell
- atomic force microscopy
- solid phase extraction
- single molecule
- adverse drug
- global health
- amino acid