article · Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology
Pesticide misuse, particularly involving ethylene bis-dithiocarbamates, presents food safety concerns in the North West Region of Cameroon, where limited analytical facilities hinder local residue monitoring. To address this, a simple spectrophotometric method was developed to measure pesticide residue levels in vegetables. The technique degrades the pesticides in an acidic medium with tin(II) chloride to release carbon disulfide, which is absorbed by a novel chromogenic reagent made of silver nitrate and diethanolamine and quantified at 410 nanometres. The method demonstrated strong linearity, good precision, and practical detection capabilities. When tested on local produce, residue concentrations were found to be 2.96 milligrams per kilogram in parsley, 6.34 in huckleberry, and 7.92 in tomato. All of these detected amounts exceeded the maximum residue levels recommended by international safety bodies.
Excessive pesticide residues on agricultural crops pose direct health hazards to consumers. Developing testing techniques that rely on accessible, straightforward laboratory equipment allows regions lacking advanced analytical infrastructure to perform vital food safety screening. This enables better local monitoring of produce and helps ensure food meets established international health guidelines.
The method is an applied and tested laboratory protocol designed to monitor pesticide residues in food. Potential users include agricultural quality control laboratories, food safety regulators, and testing facilities operating with limited analytical equipment. The approach appears to be an established, applied technique ready for laboratory implementation, though the abstract does not describe any specific packaged product or commercial transfer pathway.
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Aim: The use of pesticides, mainly ethylene bis-dithiocarbamates (EBDCs) has been reported to be abusive in the North West Region (Cameroon) but due to limited analytical facilities there are very limited data on their concentrations in foods from the local milieu. This study aimed to develop a simple spectrophotometric method to monitor residue levels of EBDCs in vegetables in order to improve food safety measures. Methodology: The analytical technique was based on the degradation of EBDCs in acidic medium in the presence of tin (II) chloride to liberate carbon disulfide which was absorbed by a new chromogenic reagent (silver nitrate/diethanolamine) and subsequently quantified spectrophotometrically at 410 nm. Results: A good linearity (R2=0.999), practical detection limit (0.02 µg/mL), theoretical limit of quantification (20.04 µg/mL) of the method were established. The precision of the method was within the generally accepted interval for pesticides analysis. The analysis of the three selected vegetables revealed EBDC residue levels of 2.96, 6.34 and 7.92 mg/kg in parsley, huckleberry and tomato samples, respectively. These levels exceeded the maximum residue levels recommended by EFSA (2019) and FAO/WHO (2020). Conclusion: The developed method was simple, rapid, and easy to use for the estimation and control of residue levels of EBDC in vegetables.
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DOI: 10.9734/cjast/2025/v44i14476
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