Effectiveness of electrolyzed oxidizing water treatment in removing pesticide residues and its effect on produce quality

•EO water effectively reduced diazinon, cyprodinil, and phosmet from produce.•EO water did not affect the colour and texture of produce.•EO water can be highly effective in pesticide residue removal.

This study evaluated the effects of electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water treatment on the removal of pesticide residues (diazinon, cyprodinil and phosmet) from spinach, snap beans and grapes, and the effect on produce quality. High available chlorine content (ACC) and long treatment time of EO water resulted in high pesticide removals. Up to 59.2, 66.5 and 37.1% of diazinon; 43.8, 50.0 and 31.5% of cyprodinil; 85.7, 73.0 and 49.4% of phosmet; were removed from spinach, snap beans and grapes, respectively, after 15 min EO water treatment at 120 mg/l ACC. EO water was also more effective than electrolyzed reduced water, bleach, VegWash and DI water on pesticide removal. In addition, no significant colour or texture deterioration were found on produce samples treated with EO water. It was concluded, EO water can be very effective in pesticide residue removal from fresh produce without affecting the produce quality.