Monitoring of pesticide residues and risk assessment for consumer safety in rice samples from Andhra Pradesh, India

A systematic study monitored the pesticide residues in commercially important food grains, specifically rice produced, consumed and exported from India. Residues of 18 commonly used pesticides (acephate, buprofezin, carbendazim, hexaconazole, isoprothiolane, lambda cyhalothrin, profenofos, propiconazole, tebuconazole, azoxystrobin, bifenthrin, flubendiamide, imidacloprid, tricyclazole, indoxacarb, monocrotophos, quinalphos, thiamethoxam) were determined in 135 samples collected from farmer fields and 15 samples from markets from Guntur and Palnadu districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. The residues were extracted using the modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe method and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. Propiconazole, tricyclazole and tebuconazole were the most frequently detected pesticides. The farm-gate rice (de-husked brown) samples from zero budget natural farmers and polished rice samples from markets of both districts were free from pesticide residues. No pesticides were detected in 71.11% and 74.44% of all the farm-gate rice samples collected from farmers of Palnadu and Guntur districts respectively.