Determination of organochlorine and pyrethroid pesticides in fruit and vegetables using SAX/PSA clean-up column

A study was conducted to investigate the organochlorine and pyrethroid pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables from market in Malaysia. Gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) was used to determine the concentrations of pesticide residues and SAX/PSA was used as a clean-up. Cypermethrin was detected in 38 of 302 vegetable samples with a mean value of 0.47 mg/kg. The mean value of cypermethrin for tomato, chinese parsley, chinese celery, chilli, brinjal, french beans, green mustard and capsicum ranged from 0.16 to 1.48 mg/kg. The mean values for all samples were below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) allowed by the Malaysian Food Regulations except for brinjal. None of the 206 fruit samples tested showed any pesticide residue.