Ki-Sung Kwon

Application of Multiresidue Analysis Method of Unregistered Pesticides in Korea for Imported Food

BACKGROUND: Recently in Korea, the import of agricultural products is rising due to the increasing amount of trade. Unregistered pesticides, allidochlor, propachlor, propham, cycloate, diallate and pebulate are widely used as pesticides for rice cultivation in foreign countries, while they are not registered in Korea. Therefore, the residue amount of imported agri-foods should be verified using the proper official analytical method for each of them that has not registered in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: This work was conducted to apply the official method of Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) for determining multi class pesticide multiresidues in agricultural commodities. Brown rice and orange which have different characteristics as a matrix were selected as representative samples for residue analysis. The recoveries of cycloate, diallate and pebulate by GC/MS in fortified brown rice and orange with levels of 0.04~0.4 mg/kg were ranged from 82.8% to 110.3%. The quantification limits of three pesticides in brown rice and orange were 0.04 mg/kg. CONCLUSION: As a result, this method can surely be used as an official method for routine analysis of unregistered pesticides in Korea for imported agri-food.

Residue Studies of Difenoconazole and Thiamethoxam during Cultivation of Sweet Persimmon for Export

BACKGROUND: In order to elucidate residual characteristics of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam by treatment to sweet persimmons for one year and to generate the data for the maximum residue limit (MRL) establishment for those pesticides in or on sweet persimmon. METHODS AND RESULTS: Systemic fungicide difenoconazole WP (10% a.i.) and systemic insecticide thiamethoxam WG (10% a.i.) were sprayed onto 12~25-years-old sweet persimmons according to its preharvest interval (PHI), respectively, and then fresh sweet persimmons were harvested at 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 days after treatment from pesticide-sprayed plots at each 3 sites. The analytical methods were evaluated to limit of quantification, linearity, specificity, reproducibility and recoveries. The crop samples were extracted with acetone and performed dichloromethane partition process. The extracted samples of difenoconazole were analyzed by GC-ECD and the thiamethoxam extracted samples were analyzed by HPLC with good sensitivity and selectivity of the method. The average recoveries of difenoconazole ranged from 87.5 to 99.5% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 4.1~7.6% at three different spiking levels(0.02, 0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg). And the average recoveries of thiamethoxam and clothianidin ranged from 88.8 to 98.9% and 83.2 to 96.6% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 3.6~5.0% and 3.8~9.4% at three different spiking levels(0.02, 0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg), respectively. The residue amounts ranges of difenoconazole were 0.2~0.56 mg/kg and the residue amount was decreased below the MRL level, 1.0 mg/kg, after 1 day harvest. The residue amounts ranges of thiamethoxam were 0.08~0.28 mg/kg and the residue amount was decreased below the MRL level, 0.5 mg/kg, after 1 day harvest. And the residue amount of clothianidin was below then 0.03 mg/kg for only one test site of 14 and 28 day samples. CONCLUSION: As a result, the residual amounts of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam were not exceeded the MRL of established criteria for sweet persimmon. The biological half-lives of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam were 13.6, 19.4, 16.3 and 10.0, 15.3, 14.0 days at each three test sites, respectively.

Development of Analytical Method for the Determination and Identification of Unregistered Pesticides in Domestic for Orange and Brown Rice(I) -Chlorthal-dimethyl, Clomeprop, Diflufenican, Hexachlorobenzene, Picolinafen, Propyzamide-

BACKGROUND: For the safety of imported agricultural products, the study was conducted to develop the analytical method of unregistered pesticides in domestic. The analytical method of 6 pesticides, chlorthal-dimethyl, clomeprop, diflufenican, hexachlorobenzene, picolinafen, and propyzamide, for a fast multi-residue analysis were established for two different type crops, orange and brown rice by GC-ECD and confirmed by mass spectrometry. METHODS AND RESULTS: The analytical method was evaluated to limit of quantification, linearity and recoveries. The crop samples were extracted with acetonitrile and performed cleanup by liquid-liquid partition and Florisil SPE to remove co-extracted matrix. The extracted samples were analyzed by GC-ECD with good sensitivity and selectivity of the method. The limits of quantification (LOQ) range of the method with S/N ratio of 10 was 0.02∼ 0.05 mg/kg for orange and brown rice. The linearity for targeted pesticides were R 2 >0.999 at the levels ranged from 0.05 to 10.0 mg/kg. The average recoveries ranged from 74.4% to 110.3% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 0.2∼8.8% at two different spiking levels (0.02 mg/kg and 0.2 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg) in brown rice. And the average recoveries ranged from 77.8% to 118.4% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 0.2∼6.6% at two different spiking levels (0.02 mg/kg and 0.2 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg) in orange. Final determination was by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/selected ion monitoring (GC/MS/SIM) to identify the targeted pesticides. CONCLUSION: As a result, this developed analytical method can be used as an official method for imported agricultural products.

Establishment of 22 Pesticide MRLs in Agricultural Products based on Risk Assessment

BACKGROUND: Food Sanitary Act establishes Maxi- mum Residue Limits (MRLs) of pesticides in food that are newly registered and used per each quarter, as stipulated by Agro-chemical Control Act. Current Food Code contains the MRLs for a total of 418 pesticides in 184 food types. METHODS AND RESULTS: National MRLs for pes- ticides have been established by based on scientific data of good agricultural practice, acceptable daily intake (ADI), food intake, average body weight and others. MRLs for pesticides are generally set under the principle that theoretical maximum daily intake (TMDI) are always below ADI. As results, 27 MRLs in agricultural products were newly proposed for 22 pesticides (fungicide: azoxy- strobin, fludioxonil, fluquinconazole, flusilazole, iprova- licarb, kresoxim-methyl, mandipropamid, metconazole, pyraclostrobin, tebuconazole, triflumizole, etc., Insecti- cide: dinotefuran, flubendiamide, indoxacarb, cyhalothrin, spinetoram, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, metaflumizone, etc., Acaricide(miticide): cyenopyrafen, lufenuron) in 2010. CONCLUSION(s): There is no intake concerns for establishment of pesticide MRLs on foods in this time. Because the ratio of theoretical maximum daily intake (TMDI) are set below that of ADI.

Analysis and Monitoring of Aflatoxin M 1 in Milks

Raw milk samples (n=28) obtained from milk tanks in 3 dairy plants of different regions and commercial milks (n=100) were collected from six cities. These samples were analyzed for the level of aflatoxin M1 contamination using immunoaffinity columns and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescent detectors. Confirmation of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) identified in positive samples was based on the formation of the hemiacetal derivative (AFM2a) after derivatization with trifluroacetic acid. The average concentrations of aflatoxin M 1 in the raw milks were 25.1 ng/kg, and those values in commercial milks were 29.8 ng/kg. The highest level of aflatoxin M1 in milk was 72.7 ng/kg. These results showed that the contamination of aflatoxin M 1 in milks consumed in the Korea was quite low compared to the standard in Korea Food Code (aflatoxin M1 500 ng/kg).

Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Etofenprox Residues in Foods with Mass-Spectrometric Confirmation

BACKGROUND: An official analytical method was developed to determine etofenprox residues in agricultural commodities using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). METHODS AND RESULTS: The etofenprox residue was extracted with acetone from representative samples of five raw products which comprised rice grain, apple, mandarin, cabbage, and soybean. The extract was then serially purified by liquid-liquid partition and Florisil column chromatography. For rice and soybean samples, acetonitrile/n-hexane partition was additionally coupled to remove nonpolar lipids. Reversed phase HPLC using an octadecylsilyl column was successfully applied to separate etofenprox from co-extractives. Intact etofenprox was sensitively detected by ultraviolet absorption at 225 nm. Recovery experiment at the quantitation limit validated that the proposed method could apparently determine the etofenprox residue at 0.02 mg/kg. Mean recoveries from five crop samples fortified at three levels in triplicate were in the range of 93.6∼106.4%. Relative standard deviations of the analytical method were all less than 10%, irrespective of crop types. A selected-ion monitoring LC/mass spectrometry with positive atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization was also provided to confirm the suspected residue.