Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits
Pesticide residues on fruits pose a global food safety concern, emphasizing the need for effective and practical removal strategies to ensure safe consumption. This study investigates the efficacy of household ingredients (corn starch, all-purpose flour, rice flour and baking soda) and four commerci...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/318 |
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| author | Xinyi Du Lauren Ho Sisheng Li Jeffery Doherty Junghak Lee John M. Clark Lili He |
| author_facet | Xinyi Du Lauren Ho Sisheng Li Jeffery Doherty Junghak Lee John M. Clark Lili He |
| author_sort | Xinyi Du |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pesticide residues on fruits pose a global food safety concern, emphasizing the need for effective and practical removal strategies to ensure safe consumption. This study investigates the efficacy of household ingredients (corn starch, all-purpose flour, rice flour and baking soda) and four commercial fresh produce wash products in eliminating a model pesticide thiabendazole with and without a model non-ionic surfactant Alligare 90<sup>®</sup> from postharvest fruits. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed for the rapid, in situ quantification of residue removal on apple surfaces. Soaking in 2% corn starch followed by soaking in 5% baking was the most effective homemade strategy, removing 94.13% and 91.78% of thiabendazole with and without the surfactant. Among commercial washing agents, soaking in 2% Product 4 demonstrated the highest efficiency, removing 95.3% and 95.99% of thiabendazole with and without surfactant. These results suggested that the non-ionic surfactant did not affect removal efficiency. Both protocols were effective across various fruits (apples, grapes, lemons, strawberries), validated by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses. However, safety concerns regarding the composition of Product 4 highlighted the benefits of homemade strategies. Overall, this work offers practical guidelines for reducing pesticide residues on fruits and enhancing food. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-20b7a9e7e6c644f6a06e959667c46918 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-20b7a9e7e6c644f6a06e959667c469182025-01-24T13:33:16ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-01-0114231810.3390/foods14020318Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from FruitsXinyi Du0Lauren Ho1Sisheng Li2Jeffery Doherty3Junghak Lee4John M. Clark5Lili He6Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USAPesticide residues on fruits pose a global food safety concern, emphasizing the need for effective and practical removal strategies to ensure safe consumption. This study investigates the efficacy of household ingredients (corn starch, all-purpose flour, rice flour and baking soda) and four commercial fresh produce wash products in eliminating a model pesticide thiabendazole with and without a model non-ionic surfactant Alligare 90<sup>®</sup> from postharvest fruits. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed for the rapid, in situ quantification of residue removal on apple surfaces. Soaking in 2% corn starch followed by soaking in 5% baking was the most effective homemade strategy, removing 94.13% and 91.78% of thiabendazole with and without the surfactant. Among commercial washing agents, soaking in 2% Product 4 demonstrated the highest efficiency, removing 95.3% and 95.99% of thiabendazole with and without surfactant. These results suggested that the non-ionic surfactant did not affect removal efficiency. Both protocols were effective across various fruits (apples, grapes, lemons, strawberries), validated by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses. However, safety concerns regarding the composition of Product 4 highlighted the benefits of homemade strategies. Overall, this work offers practical guidelines for reducing pesticide residues on fruits and enhancing food.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/318pesticide residue removalpostharvest washing strategiesSERSthiabendazolenon-ionic surfactantsLC-MS/MS |
| spellingShingle | Xinyi Du Lauren Ho Sisheng Li Jeffery Doherty Junghak Lee John M. Clark Lili He Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits Foods pesticide residue removal postharvest washing strategies SERS thiabendazole non-ionic surfactants LC-MS/MS |
| title | Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits |
| title_full | Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits |
| title_short | Efficacy of Household and Commercial Washing Agents in Removing the Pesticide Thiabendazole Residues from Fruits |
| title_sort | efficacy of household and commercial washing agents in removing the pesticide thiabendazole residues from fruits |
| topic | pesticide residue removal postharvest washing strategies SERS thiabendazole non-ionic surfactants LC-MS/MS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/318 |
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