Multiresidue determination of pesticides in apples and pears by gas chromatography mass spectrometry

This paper describes a rapid, specific and sensitive multiresidue method for the routine analysis of several classes of pesticides used for the treatment of apples and pears, involving a rapid extraction procedure at pH 4.5 with a mixture of acetone-dichloromethane-hexane (50:20:30, v/v/v) and gas chromatography coupled to mass-selective detection, in order to achieve quantitative analysis down to their respective maximum residue limit. Extraction recoveries were between 55 and 98%. Limits of detection and limits of quantitation ranged respectively, from 0.01 to 0.05 mg/kg and from 0.02 to 0.1 mg/kg. Intra-assay relative standard deviation was less than 19% for all compounds. An excellent linearity was observed from these LOQs up to 500 mg/kg. Intermediate (inter-assay) precision and accuracy were satisfactory. The method has been applied to many fruit samples intended for commercialisation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.