Analysis of 207 residual pesticides in hot pepper powder using LC-MS/MS

This study investigated the determination of 207 pesticides in hot pepper powder and found patterns of pesticide use by production from five regions, detecting a total of 50 pesticides. The LOD, LOQ and recoveries of pesticides were 0.08-2.53, 0.25-7.60 μg kg^-1, and 81.0-132.1%, respectively. The Horrat values ranged from 0.07 to 1.97. A total of 50 residual pesticides were detected in 963 hot pepper powder samples. All residual pesticide levels were below the Korean maximum residue level (MRL) and the %ADI was ≤ 0.001-0.076%. Seven pesticides had a detection rate above 50% (tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin, etofenprox, flonicamid, imidacloprid, carbendazim, and flubendiamide). The region where the most pesticide types were detected was Ham-pyeong with 38 types. Tebuconazole had detection rates of > 90% in all regions. In the PCA results with factor analysis, each region shows patterns of pesticide use. Four regions focus on Aphidoidea control and one region on Colletotrichum acutatum control.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-023-01443-6.