Effects of Househould Cleaning Methods on Carbendazim Residue in Apples.

Carbendazim, belonging to fungicides, was commonly used for controlling crop diseases, resulting in frequent residues in fruits and vegetables. Washing was the initial step of household fruit processing for cleaning and reducing pollutant contents. However, the effect of washing on the removal of carbendazim in apples was not systemically studied. Thus, in this study, an analytical method was firstly established for the determination of carbendazim with great accuracy and precision through quick, simple, cheap, effective and safe (QuEChERS) method and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (UPLC-FLD). Then, the influencing factors were systematically researched to unveil their effects on the carbendazim residue in apples. The results indicated that water temperature, washing products and washing method could obviously affect the carbendazim content in apples. In addition, the best cleaning scheme for removal of carbendazim was soaking apples for 5 min in a cleaning solution, which was prepared by dissolving 8 g of commercial fruit washing soup with 500 ml of water 3145. Under this condition, the removal rate of carbendazim in the washing step reached 73.91%. This study will be helpful for providing guidance for household cleaning methods for controlling pesticide residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]