Determination of difenoconazole residue in tomato during home canning by UPLC-MS/MS

The effects of different steps in canned tomato paste production on difenoconazole levels were investigated. And residues were determined by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) after each stage including washing, peeling, homogenization, simmering and sterilization. Results showed that washing and peeling process reduced the amount of residue by 99%, whereas homogenization, simmering, and sterilization process had little effects on the removal of difenoconazole residue. Difenoconazole mostly remained in tomato skin, therefore, washing and peeling significantly reduced difenoconazole, especially peeling resulted in nearly 94.6% difenoconazole removal from tomatoes, with the processing factor of peeling at < 0.05.