RAPID SCREENING OF IMAZALIL AND THIABENDAZOLE FROM CITRUS

The method uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultraviolet-visible DAD (diode array detector) and FLD (fluorescence detector) detectors for the simultaneous detection of imazalil and thiabendazole residues on the surface of citrus fruits (lemons, mandarines, grapefruits, oranges, and limes).

     The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the technical report approved in March 2023, based on member countries' reports on official controls on pesticide residues in food products, stated among other things: citrus fruits, seed fruits and fresh herbs are the product groups with the higher detection frequency of pesticide residues. More than 90% of the samples analyzed contained one or more residues.

    All these considerations are the basis of the concept of this invention which takes into account the need to determine the concentration of pesticide residue (imazalil and thiabendazole) on the surface of citrus fruits, fruits whose peel is used for human consumption. The developed method is based on a fast sample preparation/extraction step (20 minutes) and presents a high sensitivity considering the detection and quantification limits, especially for the determination of thiabendazole. Also, the analytical results indicate a very good degree of repeatability.