Monitoring of Pesticide Residues in Imported Fruits and Vegetables in United Arab Emirates during 2019

An accurate, rapid and reliable method for the simultaneous determination of pesticide multi-residues in 9724 samples imported fresh fruits and vegetables by a method of liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry LC–ESI (+)-MS/MS operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, two transitions for each compound in the presence of internal standards and modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe (QuEChERS) method was used for the determination of 343 pesticides.

The performance of the analytical method was validated in accordance with EU SANCO guidelines (SANTE/12682/2019) for monitoring pesticide multi-residues. Residues of 93 compounds, mainly fungicides and insecticides, were detected in 3548 samples.

In this article, The potential applications of Liquid Chromatography and Tandem Mass spectrometry (MS/MS) techniques on monitoring pesticide residues of target samples of imported fruits and vegetables in United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the year 2019 is reported. The need for a continuous monitoring program of pesticide residues in imported fruits and vegetables is highly recommended and continuous process control for health and safety practices and to adhere to international agricultural and environmental policies of the country.