Application of Fast Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Combination with the QuEChERS Method for the Determination of Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables

A fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method has been developed for multiresidue determination of up to 56 pesticides in fruits and vegetables in a chromatographic run time of < 10 min, using a single quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The well-known acetate-buffering version of the QuEChERS method has been used for sample preparation. Programmable temperature vaporizer injection of 3 mu L allowed reaching limits of detection between 0.15 and 15 mu g/kg for most compounds in the sample matrices tested. The applicability of the method has been evaluated in apple, orange, carrot, and tomato. Recoveries at three fortification levels (0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) ranged from 70 to 120 % for most compounds, with relative standard deviations below 20 % in all cases. The developed method has been applied to fruit and vegetable samples from different Spanish provinces.