Detection of the residues of nineteen pesticides in fresh vegetable samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

•About 19 different agricultural pesticides were investigated in 210 vegetables of Bangladesh.•A multiresidue method was developed to detect the pesticide levels using GC-MS.•Pesticide residues were detected in 51.30% of the total samples.•Among the positive samples, 38.89% contained levels above the maximum residue levels (MRLs).•The most frequently detected pesticides were chlorpyrifos.

In this study, we investigated the presence of 19 different agricultural pesticides in 210 samples of eight types of domestic vegetables collected from several vegetable-growing regions in Bangladesh. A multiresidue method was developed to detect the pesticide levels in the collected samples using gas chromatography with mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Pesticide residues were detected in 51.30% of the total samples, and among the positive samples, 38.89% contained levels above the maximum residue levels (MRLs). The most frequently detected pesticides were chlorpyrifos (34) followed by carbofuran (17), diazinon (16), carbaryl (14), malathion (11), endosulfan (8), cypermethrin (7) and dimethoate (6). Some (10.47%) of the samples contained multiple residues. It is concluded that the continuous monitoring and strict regulation of pesticide use on food crops, especially vegetables, are necessary.