A New LC-MS Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Pesticide Residue Removal from Fruit Surfaces by Washing Agents

Abstract

Modern agriculture uses pesticides to improve the quality and quantity of crops. However, pesticide residues can remain on agricultural products, posing very serious risks to human health and life. It is recommended to wash fruits and vegetables before consumption. To assess the removal efficacy of pesticide residue, a sensitive and reliable method based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed and optimized for the simultaneous determination of four pesticide residues (acetamiprid, boscalid, pyraclostrobin, and pendimethalin). Isotope-labeled standards were used to validate the method in terms of recovery, linearity, matrix effects, precision, and sensitivity. The mean recovery values for both low-quality control (LQC) and high-quality control (HQC) transitions were in the range of 89–105%, and the intra-day precision was less than 13.7%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.003 mg/kg and 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The proposed method is suitable for evaluating the quality of detergents for removing pesticide residues from fruit surfaces.