Maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides have been established for edible mushrooms in order to control quality and ensure benefits of consumers in numerous countries, especially areas comprising Europe. In this study, by means of optimising extract purification conditions, a high sensitivity and reliability method to simultaneously determine 180 pesticides in mushrooms has been proposed. Matrix effects were minimised by combining QuEChERS extraction and a mixed mode of SPE cleaned up with different adsorbent materials after sample preparation. The method was completely validated following the requirements of SANTE/12682/2019. The LOQs ranged from 2 to 5 μg/kg, well below the MRLs as regulated by the EU (10-50 μg/kg). Both relative standard deviation of repeatability (RSDr) and reproducibility (RSDR) were less than 20% and recoveries varied from 70 to 120%. Therefore, this method was considered to be suitable for routine analysis of multi-pesticide residues in edible mushrooms.
Keywords: Pesticide; QuEChERS; UPLC-MS/MS; edible mushroom; food.