Detection and Optimization of Multiple Pesticides Residues in Honey Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

This study aimed to optimize and validate a multi-residue method for identifying and quantifying pesticides in honey by using an accurate, rapid and reliable method for the simultaneous determination of 101 pesticide residues in honey by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry LC–ESI (+)-MS/MS operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The performance of the analytical method was validated in accordance with EU SANCO guidelines (SANTE/12682/2019). Acceptable values were obtained for the following parameters: linearity, recoveries, precision (reproducibility and repeatability) and measurement uncertainty tests (<50.0%).

A highly efficient approach for determining pesticide residues in honey with good recoveries was developed. The recovery values obtained at two fortification levels: 0.01 and 0.1 mgkg−1, were 73.2% and 119.7% respectively, with an average RSD<17% for all the tested compounds. The estimated linearity measured at five concentration levels presented good correlation coefficients (r2) average 0.99, all residue contaminants were detected at acceptable MRLs.