Survey of low-level endocrine disrupting pesticides in food matrices in Slovakia

The search on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in non-fatty food was evaluated. A fast, high-throughput, accurate, multiresidue method for the analysis of selected EDC pesticides in fruit and vegetable food samples was developed. The QuEChERS technique was used for sample preparation. Fast GC-MS was performed with a narrow-bore capillary column and a quadrupole benchtop detector with electron ionization (EI) and negative chemical ionization (NCI). A part of the work was devoted to the comparison of NCI versus EI approach concerning the sensitivity of detection and to the study of selectivity enhancement in NCI mode. Matrix-matched standard solutions were utilized for calibration. The methods validation was performed. Fortification studies at 1, 5, 10 and 250 µg kg−1 for 35 pesticides in EI mode and 0.1, 1, 5 and 250 µg kg−1 for 28 pesticides in NCI mode were performed. Average recoveries for each fortification level ranged from 70 to 110% with >80% of recoveries between 90 and 110%. Limits of quantif...