Investigation of pesticide residues in Fragaria and Myrica rubra sold in Hangzhou

Abstract

This study investigated the concentration of the pesticide residues found in Fragaria and Myrica rubra sold in the city of Hangzhou. From an analysis of 151 (77 Fragaria and 74 Myrica rubra ) samples using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a total of 41 different pesticide residues were found to be present. Of the 41 residues, 14 were found using GC-MS/MS and 27 using LC-MS/MS. Of the 151 samples, 10 (13.0%) of the 77 Fragaria and 5 (6.8%) of the 74 Myrica rubra samples were found to contain a specific pesticide residue, and only 4 Fragaria samples and 2 Myrica rubra samples were found to be without any pesticide residue. Eighteen of the 41 pesticides were not detected in either Fragaria or Myrica rubra samples. Of the 41 different residues, 10 were detected in Fragaria samples and 20 in Myrica rubra samples. In Fragaria , procymidone was the most commonly detected residue, with a detection rate of 88.3%, followed by prochloraz, with a detection rate of 53.2%. In Myrica rubra , prochloraz was the most commonly detected residue, with a detection rate of 71.6%, followed by carbendazim, with a detection rate of 68.9%. The pesticide residues in some of the samples exceeded the maximum residue limit (MRL) set in People’s Republic of China. The MRL of dimethomorph was exceeded in 3 of the Fragaria samples and that of dichlorvos was exceeded in 2 of the Myrica rubra samples.