Can Occurrence of Pesticide Metabolites Detected in Crops Provide the Evidence on Illegal Practices in Organic Farming?

Modern pesticides rapidly degrade after their application due to both physicochemical factors and through biotransformation. Consequently, pesticide residues in samples might be either undetectable or detected at low concentrations (≤10 μg/kg). Under such conditions, a monitoring of pesticide metabolites in samples might be a conceivable solution enabling the documentation of earlier pesticide use.

Food fraud in oregano: Pesticide residues as adulteration markers.

Oregano, a widely used and popular herb, is particularly vulnerable to fraud. Less valued plants, adulterants that are often used for dilution, may introduce into this commodity additional contaminants such as pesticide residues. In this study, more than 400 pesticides were screened in a representative set of 42 genuine and 34 adulterated dried oregano samples collected from various locations across Europe.

Evaluation of pesticide residue dynamics in Chinese cabbage, head cabbage and cauliflower.

Pesticide residues from the time of application until harvest were analysed for 20, 17 and 18 active insecticidal and fungicidal substances in Chinese cabbage, head cabbage and cauliflower, respectively. In total, 40 mathematical models of residue degradation were developed using a first-order kinetic equation, and from these models it was possible to forecast the action pre-harvest interval for a given action threshold for low-residue production in Brassica vegetables as a percentage of the maximum residue level. Additionally, it was possible to establish an action pre-harvest interval based on an action threshold of 0.

Field performance of the Chemcatcher passive sampler for monitoring hydrophobic organic pollutants in surface water.

Six field trials were carried out to assess the performance of the Chemcatcher passive sampler alongside spot sampling for monitoring priority hydrophobic organic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides) in a wide range of conditions in surface water. The trials were performed in three European rivers: Elbe (Czech Republic), Alna (Norway) and Meuse (Netherlands), in two seasons (April-June 2004, and September-October 2004). Samplers spiked with performance reference compounds (PRCs) were deployed for either 14 or 28 days.