Determination of pesticide residues in edible snails with QuEChERS coupled to GC-MS/MS

Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2020 Nov;37(11):1881-1887. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2020.1809720. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

Abstract

A QuEChERS multi-residue GC-MS/MS method was developed for determining 160 pesticides in fresh edible snails. The method was validated according to the EU guidance SANTE/12682/2019. Twenty-seven different pesticides were quantified in the 824 samples analysed. Of these, 22.09% contained pesticide residues; in one case six different pesticides. The most frequently quantified pesticides were chlorpyrifos (108 samples), cypermethrin (50), difenoconazole (24), oxyfluorfen (13), lambda-cyhalothrin (12), tetraconazole and azoxystrobin (7). Other pesticides were found in <5 samples. Of the samples containing residues, 154 exceeded the EU legal limit. However, the estimated daily intake of pesticide residues showed that snail consumption does not represent appreciable risks to consumer health.

Keywords: GC-MS/MS; Pesticide residues; daily intake; edible snails.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chlorobenzenes / analysis
  • Chlorpyrifos / analysis
  • Food Contamination / analysis*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / analysis
  • Humans
  • Nitriles / analysis
  • No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level
  • Pesticide Residues / analysis*
  • Pyrethrins / analysis
  • Pyrimidines / analysis
  • Snails / chemistry*
  • Solid Phase Extraction
  • Strobilurins / analysis
  • Triazoles / analysis

Substances

  • Chlorobenzenes
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
  • Nitriles
  • Pesticide Residues
  • Pyrethrins
  • Pyrimidines
  • Strobilurins
  • Triazoles
  • cypermethrin
  • oxyfluorofen
  • tetraconazole
  • Chlorpyrifos
  • azoxystrobin
  • cyhalothrin