Non-targeted screening of pesticides for food analysis using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry-a review

ABSTRACT

Targeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is a robust and reliable tool in quantitative analysis of pesticide residues in food samples. However, these methods have been only targeted to a predefined set of pesticides. Many other unexpected pesticides and/or their (bio)transformation products present in food matrices that may be harmful to consumers need to be discovered for food safety monitoring purpose. Therefore, non-targeted screening approaches using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) have gained much attention in food monitoring recently. However, the development and implementation of non-targeted screening of potential pesticides and their (bio)transformation products in food samples are particularly challenging due to the inherent sample complexity and large quantity of MS data. To provide guidance on how to use non-targeted screening approaches for pesticide screening, three different aspects, namely, sample preparation, data acquisition and data processing, encompassed in the workflow of non-targeted screening approaches have been discussed, and current strategies, advances and challenges regarding these three aspects are reviewed. In addition, the recent application of non-targeted screening analysis of pesticide residues and their (bio)transformation products in food samples has been overviewed in this paper.     

Evaluation of the QuEChERS Method with GC-MS Detection for the Determination of Organochlorine Pesticides in Food of Animal Origin

This paper reports the evaluation of the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) method for the determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in food of animal origin with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry detection. There is a very little information about sample preparation method for the determination of pesticide residues in food of animal origin in the literature. Moreover, any example of application of the QuEChERS method for the determination of pesticide residues in food of animal origin has not been reported as yet. The results showed that the best recovery ratios from 75 to 112 % were obtained for the method with primary secondary amine, C₁₈ sorbents and evaporation to dryness and dissolving the residues in hexane with relative standard deviation lower than 10 % for most compounds. The limit of quantification ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0071 mg kg^?1. This method was also used for the determination of pesticide residues in 15 samples of pork ham. In 12 samples, low concentrations of DDT or its metabolites and isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane were detected. Heptachlor epoxide and α-chlordane were determined in one sample and HCB in two samples. There were no exceedances of maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the determined pesticides in any of the analysed samples.     

Evaluation of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables from Algeria

ABSTRACT

A total of 160 samples of 13 types of fresh fruits and vegetables from domestic production and import were analysed to detect the presence of pesticide residues. Analysis was performed by multi-residual extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. In 42.5% of the tested samples, no residues were found and 12.5% of samples contained pesticide residues above maximum residue limits. Risk assessment for long-term exposure was done for all pesticides detected in this study. Except chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin, exposure to pesticides from vegetables and fruits was below 1% of the acceptable daily intake. Short-term exposure assessment revealed that in seven pesticide/commodity combinations, including three pesticides (chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin), the acute reference dose had been exceeded.     

Simple Solvent Extraction Coupled with Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Rice Bran Protein Powder

A simple analytical method combining solvent extraction and liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) was developed for the analysis of pesticide residues in rice bran protein powder. Owning to the high accuracy of HRMS in determination of mass to charge ratio (m/z), a suspect screen of pesticide residues was performed by LC-HRMS prior to quantification analysis. Based on the theoretical m/z, four pesticides including isoprothiolane (IPT), tebuconazole (TBZ), propiconazole (PCZ), and tricyclazole (TCZ) were detected and further verified with their reference standards. The solvent extraction conditions were optimized according to the signal intensity of extracted ion chromatogram (XIC) in LC-HRMS. After optimization, 50% acetonitrile solution was adopted, in which the targeted pesticides could be extracted effectively (recoveries/accuracy of >?85%) with the good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD)?<?10.3%). Two isotope internal standards isoprothiolane-D₄ (IPT-D₄) and propiconazole-D₅ (PCZ-D₅) were applied in quantification, and the quantification results were highly consistent with those from the standard addition method. Limit of detections (LODs) and limit of quantifications (LOQs) of the method were about 0.05–0.2 and 0.2 to 1 μg kg^?1, respectively, without additional purification/enrichment for these analytical targets. The developed method was applied for the analysis of five different batches of rice bran protein samples. It was found that these four pesticide residues were all below 0.02 mg kg^?1, well less than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) in the latest regulations in EU and China (0.1–5 mg kg^?1). Besides the rice bran protein powder, this suspect screen followed with targeted quantification approach by LC-HRMS could also be applied for other rice derivative products analysis.     

唐山地区韭菜农药残留检测分析及膳食摄入风险评估

为了解唐山地区流通韭菜的农药残留状况与民众的膳食摄入风险,该研究采用高效液相色谱-串联质谱仪(HPLC-MS/MS)和气相色谱仪(GC)对2020年在唐山地区采集的415个韭菜样品分别进行了68种农药残留定性定量检测,并对韭菜样品中检出的农药进行风险评估.结果 表明,415个韭菜样品共计检出41种农药残留,检出率为69...     

Dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to pesticide residues: results of the first Hong Kong total diet study

The use of pesticides and other chemicals has become a common practice in modern agriculture to enhance and stabilise crop yield, protect the nutritional integrity of food, facilitate food storage to assure year-round supplies, and provide attractive and appealing food products. With the adoption of strict good agricultural practice (GAP), only minimal amounts of pesticide residues should remain on the crops or in connected foods of animal origin up the food chain. To assess their associated health risk to local people, the dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to residues of four groups of pesticides or their metabolites – organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), carbamates, pyrethrins and pyrethroids, and dithiocarbamate (DTC) metabolites – is estimated in the first Hong Kong Total Diet Study (TDS). A total of 150 commonly consumed food items were collected and prepared “as consumed”. A total of 600 composite food samples were analysed for 85 pesticides or their metabolites by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). These pesticides were primarily found at low levels (highest mean = 350 μg kg^?1) in food samples of plant origin such as vegetables and fruits. Dietary exposures to pesticide residues were estimated based on the analytical results and the food consumption data of the local residents. The estimated dietary exposures of Hong Kong adults to all individual pesticides were well below their respective acceptable daily intakes (ADIs). The percentage contributions of the estimated mean and 95th percentile dietary exposures to the ADIs of individual pesticides were <6% and <24% for the OPPs, <1% for the carbamates and pyrethrins and pyrethroids, and <1% and <4% for the DTC metabolites, respectively. The findings indicate that dietary exposures to all the pesticide residues analysed in this study were unlikely to pose unacceptable health risks to the Hong Kong population.     

Method Development,Optimization and Validation of Matrix Hydration Effect on Pesticide Residues in Cocoa Beans Using Modified QuEChERS Method and Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Modified QuEChERS method combined with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was developed and validated to determine pesticide residues in dried cocoa beans. Extraction efficiency of matrix hydration effect on 19 pesticide residues was studied and optimized using 2³ full factorial design with percentage recoveries as the response variable. The optimized hydration method was validated for 24 pesticides, and recoveries obtained were in the range of 70–120% with relative standard deviations of less than 20% for most pesticides. Limit of quantification was obtained at 10 μg/kg for all pesticides, and this value was lower than national maximum residue levels (MRLs). Finally, the developed and optimized method was applied to real cocoa bean samples and the results from incurred residues were compared between method with and without matrix hydration. These results suggest that the addition of water to the dry and high-fat cocoa bean samples is crucial in pesticide residue analysis.     

Determination of multi-class pesticide residue in dietary supplements from grape seed extracts by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

A new method was developed and validated for the determination of multi-class pesticide residues in nutraceutical products obtained from grape seed extracts. The extraction procedure was based on QuEChERS methodology using ethyl acetate as solvent and a dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) clean-up stage with C₁₈ was included to minimise matrix effects. Pesticides determination was achieved using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS); total running time was 11 min. Pesticides were quantified using matrix-matched calibration. The developed method was validated in terms of matrix effect, linearity, selectivity, limits of detection and quantification, trueness, repeatability and inter-day precision at three concentration levels (10, 50, 100 µg kg^?1). Suitable recovery values were obtained for 76% of analysed pesticides at the lowest concentration (10 µg kg^?1). For most of the compounds, relative standard deviation values were lower than 20% and 25% for intra- and inter-day precision, respectively. Finally, 106 pesticides were determined, and the method was applied to seven dietary supplements from grape seed extract, obtaining various positive results for piperonyl butoxide, cyromazine and diniconazole at concentrations ranging from 2.0 to 13.4 µg kg^?1.     

Determination of Over 350 Multiclass Pesticides in Jams by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-TOFMS)

In this study, a screening method was developed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TOFMS) for multiclass pesticide analysis in jam samples. The method was based on an experimental database with retention time/accurate mass data for the 353 selected analytes. Compound identification was based on retention time and the accurate mass measurements of the protonated molecules. The limits of detection were below 10 μg kg^?1 for 90 % of the studied compounds. The proposed method was successfully applied to evaluate the presence and concentration levels of over 350 multiclass pesticides in a total of 54 jam market samples collected in Spain from different companies. Results found were in compliance with the current regulations with the exception of a sample, which contained monocrotophos. Forty-one percent of the samples were found free of pesticides; 26 % of the samples contained only one pesticide while 33 % contained at least two or more pesticides.     

Marine-derived bioactive materials for neuroprotection

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of 56 residual pesticides from commercial crops. For a validation of the method, the recoveries, linearities, limits of detection (LOD), and limits of quantitation (LOQ) of the 56 pesticides were investigated. The linearities, LOD, and mean recoveries of the pesticides ranged 0.9686–0.9999, 0.00–11.54 μg/kg, and 65–82%, respectively. This method was evaluated by its application to monitor 345 agricultural products collected from 9 provinces in Korea 2011. Fifteen pesticides were detected from 39 samples and 2 or more residual pesticides were found in 7 samples. However, none of the compounds were observed above the corresponding maximum residue level. The results reflect that the detected pesticide residues were in a safe range and that residual pesticides in the agricultural products in Korea were properly controlled.     

LC-MS/MS Determination of Organophosphorus Pesticide Residues in Coconut Water

A simple and specific analytical method based on solid phase extraction (SPE), and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) operated in multipule reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with dynamic time segment acquisition windows, was developed to determine organophosphorus pesticide residues (acephate, monocrotophos, dimethoate, malaoxon, dichlorvos, malathion, phenthoate, parathion-ethyl, chlorfenvinfos, quinalphos, diazinon, phosalone, profenofos, ethion, chlorpyrifos) in tender coconut water. The method was observed to be linear with lower limit of detections ranged from 0.1 to 1.5 ng/mL (measured at S/N ratio 5:1) and limit of qunatitation 0.5 to 2.0 ng/mL (measured at S/N ratio 10:1) for all studied pesticides. The intra- and inter-day assay accuracies calculated at four concentration levels in six replicates (n?=?6) were in the range of 80 % to 115 % with relative standard deviations (RSD) below 15 %. The percentage recoveries of all the analysed pesticides were in the range of 86.8 % to 107.6 % and the calculated RSD values were below 12 %. The developed method was applied to determine pesticide residues in natural tender coconut water samples. The results showed the presence of malathion ranging from 24 to 45 ng/L concentrations in some natural tender coconut water samples collected from various local market places in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.     

Quantitative analysis of pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits by liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The applicability of liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) for the quantitative analysis of pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits was demonstrated. The LC-QTOF-MS parameters, such as cone voltage, capillary voltage, collision energy and mass extraction window, were carefully optimised for the analysis of pesticide residues. The LC-QTOF-MS method was validated for 149 pesticides in four vegetables and fruits, i.e. apple, potato, cabbage and spinach, at a spiking level of 0.01 mg kg^?1. The samples were prepared according to the Japanese official multi-residue method with a modification to the column clean-up procedure. Of the 149 pesticides, recoveries in the range of 70–120% were achieved for 147 pesticides in apple, 145 in potato, 141 in cabbage and 131 in spinach, with intra-day precisions (RSDs) of < 25% and inter-day precisions (RSDs) of < 30%, which are within the acceptable range given in the Japanese method validation guideline. Matrix effects were negligible for the majority of the target pesticides. Except for spiroxamine in spinach, no interfering peaks were observed in the blank samples. The target pesticides, except those with low sensitivity, achieved calibration curves with satisfactory linearity, with correlation coefficients (r) greater than 0.995 in the concentration range of 0.002–0.1 μg ml^?1. Furthermore, the majority of the target pesticides provided more than one fragment ion or isotope ion that could be used for confirmation. The overall results suggest that LC-QTOF-MS is a powerful tool for the quantification of pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits at the level of 0.01 mg kg^?1.     

Extended liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry screening method for veterinary drug,pesticide and human pharmaceutical residues in aquaculture fish

ABSTRACT

A liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) screening method was developed previously to analyze for veterinary drug residues commonly found in different types of aquaculture products. This method has been further evaluated for its feasibility to detect several other classes of compounds that might also be a concern as possible contaminants in farmed tilapia, salmon, eel and shrimp. Some chemicals could contaminate water sources used in aquaculture production through agricultural run-off. These compounds include several widely used triazine herbicides, organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, as well as various discarded human pharmaceuticals. Other possible contaminants investigated were selected disinfectants, some newer antibiotics, growth promoters, and various parasiticides. The sample preparation consisted of an acidic acetonitrile extraction followed by solid-phase extraction clean-up. Data were collected with a quadrupole-Orbitrap MS using both non-targeted and targeted acquisition. This rapid clean-up procedure and HRMS detection method described previously for veterinary drug residues also worked well for many other types of compounds. Most analytes had screening limit levels between 0.5–10 ng/g in the matrices examined using exact mass identification criteria. The strategy described in this paper for testing the performance of additional analytes will help expand the applicability of the HRMS procedure as aquaculture samples can now be analyzed for a wider range of contaminants.     

Glyphosate residues in Swiss market foods: monitoring and risk evaluation

A total of 243 samples of diverse foodstuffs were analysed for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) using a liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method with a relatively low limit of quantification in the range of 0.0005–0.0025 mg kg^?1. Main contributors for dietary glyphosate and AMPA intake were cereals and pulses. The results suggest that pasta is a very important foodstuff for dietary glyphosate residue intake in Switzerland. Interestingly all samples of wine, fruit juice and nearly all samples of honey tested positive for glyphosate although at very low levels. A dietary risk assessment was conducted. Food products for analysis were not selected purely at random, rather products were selected for which high levels of glyphosate residues were suspected. However, even in samples where high residue levels were expected, no exceedances of maximum residue levels were found. Consequently, human exposure did not exceed neither acceptable daily intake nor acute reference dose. Therefore, glyphosate residues found in the sampled foodstuffs from the Swiss market were of no concern for human health.     

芒果果实中农药残留分布及慢性膳食摄入风险

为掌握常用农药在芒果果实中的残留分布情况及其对慢性膳食摄入风险的贡献大小.采用气相色谱和超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定样品中42个常用农药残留.采用点评估方法计算检出农药对儿童和成人的慢性膳食摄入风险的贡献份额,采用相对效能因子法计算农药的累积风险.44.1％的全果样品和35.5％的果肉样品中检出农药残留.吡虫啉在全果...     

Pesticide Residue Determination by Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry as Applied to Food Safety Assessment on the Example of Some Fruiting Vegetables

A multiresidue method for the analysis of over 140 multiclass pesticides in fruiting vegetables, based on quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation procedure followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), was established. In the validation study, the overall recoveries from spiked samples were 102?±?7, 95?±?7, and 95?±?7 % with RSD values of 7?±?3, 7?±?4, and 7?±?3 % at the spiking levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.5 mg kg^?1, respectively, demonstrating fitness for purpose of the method. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.01 mg kg^?1 for more than 90 % of the target compounds. The analysis of over 300 samples of tomatoes, sweet peppers, and cucumbers was carried out in 2006–2014. Of these samples, 52 % contained pesticide residues but the results of the assessment of dietary exposure supported the conclusion that the presence of pesticide residues was unlikely to have a negative effect on the health of consumers. Although some of the pesticides detected in years 2006–2009 are no longer approved in the European Union member countries (namely endosulfan, oxadixyl, procymidone, propargite, and tolylfluanid), the consumer dietary exposure was low and did not exceed 12 % of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) considering both adults’ and children’s diet. Regarding short-term exposure (acute), in only one case of procymidone in sweet pepper, the acute reference dose (ARfD) for children was exceeded by 139.6 % of the ARfD.     

食品中农药残留筛查系统的构建

对常见农药的种类、农药残留的危害及有关农药残留的最新检测技术和复杂基质样品的前处理技术进行概述,主要总结固相萃取、凝胶渗透色谱、微波辅助消解以及分散固相萃取技术。农药残留检测主要使用色谱学方法,文中重点概述气相色谱、液相色谱方法以及相应的质谱联用技术,高分辨质谱技术的发展可以为农药残留筛查系统的建立提供有力支撑。在此基础上提出基于粮油食品中重点关注的农药残留种类并建立农药残留的监测系统、软件系统及数据库,进而建立农药残留的风险筛查系统,为政府部门及产业部门掌握农产品农药污染情况提出切实可行的解决方案。     

山东潍坊地区黄瓜中623种农药及代谢物残留的快速筛查及风险评估

为了解山东潍坊地区黄瓜的农药残留状况,该研究采用保留指数-气相色谱-串联质谱法对在山东潍坊地区生产和流通环节采集的392份黄瓜样品进行623种农药及代谢物残留的定性筛查和定量检测,并进行农药残留风险评估及排序。结果表明,392份黄瓜样品中共检出55种农药及代谢物,检出率为0.26%~92.09%,筛查出19种现有国标方法（GB 23200.113-2018和GB 23200.8-2016）未覆盖的农药残留;5种农药超出最大残留限量,即螺螨酯（2.30%）、硫丹（1.02%）、甲霜灵（0.51%）、醚菌酯（0.26%）、哒螨灵（0.26%）;检出55种农药残留的慢性和急性膳食摄入风险均低于100%,摄入风险可接受;根据残留风险得分排序,中高风险农药占比较高（60%）,特别是一些禁限用农药（硫丹、2,4-滴丁酯）的检出可能与农业投入品的隐性添加有关;流通环节（33.5%）检出农药数量高于15种的样品占比明显高于生产环节（4.08%）,这一现象可能与从基地到市场的“三前环节”存在风险点,缺乏有效监管有关,建议加强“三前环节”监管和农药使用管理,确保农产品质量安全。     

Production of apple-based baby food: changes in pesticide residues

Apples represent the main component of most fruit-based baby food products. Since not only fruit from organic farming, but also conventionally grown fruit is used for baby food production, the occurrence of pesticide residues in the final product is of high concern. To learn more about the fate of these hazardous compounds during processing of contaminated raw material, apples containing altogether 21 pesticide residues were used for preparation of a baby food purée both in the household and at industrial scale (in the baby food production facility). Within both studies, pesticide residues were determined in raw apples as well as in final products. Intermediate product and by-product were also analysed during the industrial process. Determination of residues was performed by a sensitive multi-detection analytical method based on liquid or gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The household procedure involved mainly the cooking of unpeeled apples, and the decrease of residues was not extensive enough for most of the studied pesticides; only residues of captan, dithianon and thiram dropped significantly (processing factors less than 0.04). On the other hand, changes in pesticide levels were substantial for all tested pesticides during apple processing in the industrial baby food production facility. The most important operation affecting the reduction of residues was removal of the by-products after pulping (rest of the peel, stem, pips etc.), while subsequent sterilisation has an insignificant effect. Also in this case, captan, dithianon and thiram were identified as pesticides with the most evident decrease of residues.     

Monitoring and risk assessment of 74 pesticide residues in Pu-erh tea produced in Yunnan,China

A number of 100 Pu-erh tea samples from the 2013 harvest in Yunnan Province (China) were analysed for 74 pesticides. A total of 11 pesticides were detected. At least one pesticide was detected in 56% of the samples. None of these samples contained the 74 monitored pesticides at concentrations above the Chinese maximum residual levels. Imidacloprid, bifenthrin and acetamiprid were most frequently found, with percentages of 53%, 46% and 31%, respectively. These were also the top three pesticides with maximum concentrations of 140, 246 and 672 μg kg^?1, respectively. Residual levels of the monitored pesticides showed no significant correlation with the production time or area of Pu-erh tea. Whereas a high incidence of pesticide residues was detected in Pu-erh tea, the contamination levels observed do not pose any serious health risks.