Development and validation of a grouping method for pesticides analysed in foodstuffs

► Selection of representative pesticides for the simplification of method validation. ► Grouping pesticide according to the equivalence of the pattern of their properties. ► Sound criteria for testing the inclusion of new compounds in the groups were defined. ► Multivariate analysis tools were successfully applied for grouping pesticide. ► Pesticide grouping validated with independent properties data and analytical results.