Evaluation of Pesticides in Soil and Dry fruits (hazelnuts) of Mallakastra Region, Albania

Abstract

Dried fruits such as hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. grow naturally in Albania due to suitable climatic conditions. They are widely distributed from coastal to mountainous areas of the country. Recent years the consumption of dried fruits has increased significantly due to the good qualities that these products present for the body. Hazelnuts contain high percentage of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Before 2000, dried fruits, including hazelnuts, have been limited on their use (mainly to sweets). Last years, many agricultural lands have been planted with hazelnut fruits due to the economic benefits. For these important food products (dry fruits), analyzes of pesticides and other pollutants are important because can directly affect population. Hazelnut fruits and soil samples were taken in six stations in Mallakastra area. Pesticide analysis was performed in hazelnut fruits according to the EN ISO 15662:2018 Foods of plants origin method which is a multi-residue method for the determination of pesticides using GC/MS/MS and LC/MS/MS techniques. The method allows the simultaneous determination of more than 600 individuals. Sample treatment is based on acetonitrile extraction/partitioning and clean-up by dispersive SPE. The procedure is a modular QUEChERS-method recommended for the analysis of pesticides in samples with lower percentage of water (such as dry fruits). Almost the same procedure was used for treatment of soil samples. Extraction in ultrasound by using acetonitrile and QUECHERS salt for clean-up procedure were used for pesticide analyze from soil samples. It was observed that pesticides were not detected (N.D) or their levels were lower than the limit of defect (LOD < 10 ug/kg) in all analyzed hazelnut samples. Some traces of organochlorine pesticides were found in hazelnut fruits (always below LOD level). The same pesticides were found in soil which could be the main source of pesticides to the fruit. Their presence will not exceed the permitted level for analyzed samples but their presence (even in trace level) should encourage the responsible institutions for continuous analysis for both matrices, food products and soil samples.

Keywords

• Dry fruits
• Food safety
• Multi-residue analyze
• Soil
• Pesticides
• GC/MS/MS and LC/MS/MS

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