EVALUATION OF FUNGICIDE RESIDUES IN APPLES AND THEIR IMPACT ON FOOD SAFETY

The apple is a fruit that has beneficial health effects due to the presence of biologically active components and is considered as a functional food. But today's production of apples cannot be imagined without chemical treatment. In addition to its favorable health effects, it may also have adverse effects on human health due to the presence of pesticides that are considered as contaminants. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the fungicide residues in fruit/apples. The fungicide residues were extracted from apple cultivar Idared with QuEChERS method and analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-TQ/MS). The analyses have shown that the apples contain pesticides penconazole (10 μg/kg), boscalide (60 μg/kg), tebuconazole (11-40 μg/kg), myclobutanil (20-70 μg/kg), fenbuconazole (70 μg/kg), pyrimethanil (12-60 μg/kg) and carbendazime (azole) with range of 100-200 μg/kg. After comparing the concentration of detected pesticides with MRLs, it can be concluded that apples are safe for consumption.