Monitoring of Pesticide Residues in Commonly Used Fruits and Vegetables in Bengaluru

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to evaluate the level of different pesticides in some commonly used fruits in Bengaluru region of Karnataka. Although most fruits and vegetable samples analyzed were found to be contaminated with pesticide residues,  they were under maximum residue limit (MRL) after the salted water wash. Samples with residues above MRL may pose health hazards to the consumers. It may be due to lack of awareness of the farmers about the application dose, method of application and withholding period. The findings of this study provide important data about contamination of pesticide residue in some fruits and vegetables sold in Bengaluru