QuEChERS approach for the determination of biopesticides in organic and nonorganic vegetables and fruits by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method for the determination of 14 biopesticides and piperonyl butoxide (PBO), often applied in organic farming, in vegetables and fruits has been developed. Extraction was performed using the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe method, and the determination was carried out by ultra-performance LC/MS/MS in 9 min. Several different food commodities were evaluated as representative matrixes, namely, cucumber, tomato, pepper (high water content), and strawberry and orange (high acid and water content). Biopesticides were quantified using matrix-matched calibration, and the optimized method was validated at three concentration levels, i.e., 10, 50, and 100 μg/kg, for all the compounds, yielding recoveries in the range 70-112%, 71-112%, and 70-109%, respectively, with RSDs <28%. LOQs were <3 μg/kg for all biopesticides. The validated procedure was applied to the analysis of vegetables and fruits, including products from organic farming; PBO was detected in one sample at 8 μg/kg.