A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR THE TOXIC PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN MARKETED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN LAHORE, PAKISTAN

This study was an attempt to assess the health hazards faced by the consumers through possible ingestion of toxic chemicals contained in the fruits and vegetables. In this cross sectional analytical study, tomato, apple and cucumber samples were collected from four main markets of Lahore and were analysed separately for the levels of nine pesticide residues using Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry system. The levels were compared with the maximum residue limits set by the WHO for every pesticide in respective items. The results showed that most of the samples did not contain any residues of the nine selected pesticides and only two samples of tomato had detectable residues of one pesticide Imidacloprid, which were within the limits set by the WHO. So it was concluded that the analysed fruit and vegetable samples did not pose a serious threat to the health of the consumers.