Development of Analytical Methods for Residual N-Methyl Carbamate Pesticides in Foods

One of the major roles of public health agencies is to ensure safe products for consumers through analysis of residual agricultural chemicals and veterinary drugs in foods. The use of agricultural chemicals and veterinary drugs in agriculture is necessary to improve the quality of the food produced. They play a beneficial role in providing a plentiful, low-cost supply of high-quality food. On the other hand, as a consequence of this use, the presence of residues in food that is a critical element of overall public health is unavoidable, and residues in food are of great importance in the evaluation of food quality. N-methyl carbamate pesticides have anticholinesterase activity and are used worldwide. The postcolumn HPLC method is widely used for the detection of N-methyl carbamate pesticides in food. However, this traditional method involves a time-consuming process that requires skillful techniques. Therefore we developed a new analysis method for N-methyl carbamate pesticides as described in detail in this paper. The new method, including sample preparation and determination, is simple and rapid and allows simultaneous determination of pesticides in food within a much shorter analysis time as compared with the traditional method. This should provide high-quality analysis and ensure safe products for consumers.