The impact of household preparations on the residues of pesticides in selected agricultural food commodities available in India.
Atmakuru Ramesh, Muthukrishnan Balasubramanian
Author Affiliation: Fredrick Institute of Plant Protection and Toxicology, Department of Pesticide Chemistry, Padappai, Chennai - 601 301, Tamil Nadu, India.
Journal of AOAC International 82 : 725-737
Abstract : Gas chromatographic multiresidue methods for the simultaneous determination of organophosphorus, organochlorine, and organonitrogen pesticides were used to study the exposure of the Indian population to pesticide contamination at their actual dietary intakes. Vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, okras, cabbages, and green beans [Phaseolus vulgaris]), cereals and pulses (rice, maize, wheat, red gram [Cajanus cajan], black gram and green gram), and fruits (mangoes, oranges, guavas, bananas, apples and grapes) - all readily available in Chennai City local markets - were studied. Samples were fortified with known concentrations of various pesticides and subjected to household preparation methods commonly used in India. The impact of household preparation was very high, resulting in 65-95% decontamination of pesticides at different stages. Of 512 raw market samples analysed, organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides present in 12 samples were removed during household preparation, resulting in residues well below the toxicologically acceptable limits.