Occurrence of pesticide residues in candies containing bee products

- First multirresidue method (MRM) for pesticide determination in propolis and honey candies.
- Candy samples from three countries were analyzed for 17 pesticides and 2 metabolites with LOQs of 0.02 mg/kg.
- The propolis candies contained coumaphos and chlorpyrifos.
- From the levels found, the ADI of coumaphos can be reached after eating 10 candies.

Pesticides can be found in bee products as they are usually employed to protect the beehive, but they can also reach the hive due to environmental contamination. These contaminants could be present in processed foods. One of the most common and consumed comfitures based in bee products are honey and propolis candies, for which no analytical method has yet been developed. This work presents the development of an ethyl acetate based extraction method followed by dispersive clean up using Primary and Secondary Amine (PSA) plus Graphitized Carbon Black (GCB) with Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) determination for pesticide residue monitoring candies containing honey and propolis from the Mercosur region. Sixteen pesticides found in bee products as well as three pesticide metabolites of toxicological significance were evaluated including acaricides and insecticides (pyrethroids, organophosphates and some organochlorines). The method was validated, with a LOQ of 0.01 mg/kg for most analyzed pesticides, showing a recovery rate of 70-120% with <20% RSD. Real samples from the Mercosur countries were analyzed. Coumaphos and chlorpyrifos residues were detected in most of them. From these findings a preliminary toxicological evaluation of coumaphos via admissible daily intake (ADI) estimation was conducted.