Pesticides Contamination of Cereals and Legumes: Monitoring of Samples Marketed in Italy as a Contribution to Risk Assessment

The evaluation of cereal-based product contamination by pesticide residues is a topic of worldwide importance, and reliable analytical methods for official check analyses and monitoring studies are required for multi-residue analysis at trace levels. In this work, a validated multi-residual analytical method by gas-chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry coupled with a rapid QuEChERS procedure was used for the determination of 37 pesticides (pyrethroids, organophosphorus and organochlorine compounds) in 209 commercially available samples of cereals and 11 legumes, placed on the Italian market in 2018 and 2019, coming from different regions of Italy, eastern Europe, and some non-European countries. No pesticide traces were observed in the analyzed legume samples. A total of 18 cereal samples were found to be contaminated by at least one pesticide, with a concentration level higher than the corresponding quantification limit, but never exceeding the maximum level fixed in the European Regulations. This work is the first part of a surveillance study for pesticide control in food samples.

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Survey of deoxynivalenol and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside in cereal-based products by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

World Mycotoxin Journal ◽

10.3920/wmj2010.1236 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 29-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

A. Desmarchelier ◽

W. Seefelder

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Tandem Mass Spectrometry ◽

Cereal Crops ◽

Tandem Mass ◽

Major Pathway ◽

Average Value ◽

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽

Cereal Samples

It is well known that cereal crops exposed to deoxynivalenol (DON) infection are capable of detoxifying this mycotoxin through the plant metabolism. In this context, one major pathway is the conjugation of DON to a glucose moiety giving rise to 3-β-D-glucopyranosyl-4-deoxynivalenol (D3G). Though no longer toxic for plants, this metabolite may potentially be hydrolysed in the digestive tract of humans and animals, releasing thus the toxic precursor (DON). The co-occurrence of DON and D3G in cereal-based products has already been reported but data about their absolute and relative concentrations are still insufficient. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the significance of D3G, the quantitative determination of DON and D3G has been carried out in 22 cereal samples and 4 malt-based products collected from 9 countries by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/ MS). DON was detected in all cereal samples (min: 3 µg/kg; max: 2,864 µg/kg; median: 176 µg/kg) but only in 1 malt-based product (16 µg/kg) whereas D3G was detected in 21 cereal samples (min: <1 µg/kg; max: 367 µg/kg; median: 19 µg/kg) and only in 1 malt-based product (6 µg/kg). The proportion of D3G in relation to DON concentration was within a 6-29% range with an average value at 12±7% in the tested samples.

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Determination of phthalic acid esters in different baby food samples by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry ◽

10.1007/s00216-018-0977-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 410 (22) ◽

pp. 5617-5628 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Bárbara Socas-Rodríguez ◽

Javier González-Sálamo ◽

Antonio V. Herrera-Herrera ◽

Álvaro Santana-Mayor ◽

Javier Hernández-Borges

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Gas Chromatography ◽

Tandem Mass Spectrometry ◽

Phthalic Acid ◽

Food Samples ◽

Tandem Mass ◽

Phthalic Acid Esters ◽

Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry ◽

Acid Esters

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Multiresidue Determination of Avermectins in Plant-Derived Food by UPLC-MS/MS

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.554-556.1322 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 554-556 ◽

pp. 1322-1326

Author(s):

Yu Bing Zha ◽

Chun Liang Yang ◽

Ming Yue Wang ◽

Yong Zhou Wang ◽

Cheng Yu Luo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

High Performance ◽

Residue Analysis ◽

Food Plant ◽

Tandem Mass ◽

Pesticide Residue Analysis ◽

Accuracy And Precision ◽

Multiresidue Determination ◽

Concentration Levels

The objective of this study was to propose a method that the residues of avermectins (Abamectin, Emamectin Benzoate, Ivermectin, Eprinomectin and Doramectin) derived from the food plant were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. The avermectins were extracted with acetonitrile, purified by Alumina B or GCB/NH2 SPE cartridge, and then determined by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Tests for recovery (Recovery rate: 80.6%～99.8%, RSD's: 0.22%～6.4%) were made by addition of avermectin standards at three different concentration levels (4, 20 and 100μg/kg) to five kinds of food plant as matrixes. The sensitivity, accuracy and precision of this method were able to meet the requirements for pesticide residue analysis.

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