Extraction of Pesticides from Spices

Introduction

In recent years, consumers have had a growing concern for additives and contaminants in their foods. Of most concern are those additives that can cause long term hazardous health effects, such as pesticides. Consumer demand, coupled with an ever increasing list of regulated pesticides, has created a need for rapid and accurate pesticide analysis. The QuEChERS method has been a widely accepted method to meet some of these challenges; however, because of the large number of pesticides being monitored and the decrease in the maximum residue limits, sample preparation and analysis can be a big challenge.

The manual, multi-step process of the QuEChERS method requires multiple sample transfers and generates a lot of consumable waste. Alternative methods can help streamline this workflow, yielding improved recoveries for difficult matrices, such as spices, with faster and simpler methods. The EDGE automated extraction system performs extraction and clean-up, when necessary, in a single automated step. The collected extract is automatically filtered, cooled, and ready for analysis. Both the rinsing and washing of the sample, ensuring no carryover, are included in the run time. The EDGE offers the fastest automated pesticide extraction possible in one simple method.