Chlorate and perchlorate residues in food products on the Danish market.

Upon the European commission's request in 2013, Denmark initiated a survey of the levels of chlorate and perchlorate in agriculture products from the Danish market over a period of 4 years from 2014 to 2017. The results of the survey were used to guide decision making with a view to setting maximum levels for intra-Union trade in 2013 and reviewing and updating the levels from 2020. The results of the Danish survey and the employed analytical method are documented in this paper. In addition to the 89 domestic samples, 30 samples of foreign origin were analysed for chlorate and perchlorate, together with ten samples of baby food and seven samples of infant formula collected from the Danish market. Samples were extracted using the Quick Polar Pesticides extraction method (QuPPe) and analysed on a triple quadrupole LC-MS/MS system. The levels of both chlorate and perchlorate detected in samples originating from Denmark were lower than the current MRLs except for a single sample of lettuce. Moreover, the percentage of foreign samples that were positive for chlorate and perchlorate residues was higher than the percentage of domestic samples. The reason for the generally low levels and low frequency of chlorate and perchlorate in Danish products is most likely linked to the fact that the water supply in Denmark is 100% unchlorinated ground water. The present study shows that residues of perchlorate and chlorate are found in Danish food products at a relatively low frequency and that the levels found are below the EU's MRLs implemented in 2020.

Development of a new generic extraction method for the analysis of pesticides, mycotoxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in representative animal feed and food samples.

Various generic extraction methods have been used to determine pesticide residues, mycotoxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food and animal feed to ensure consumer safety. However, these methods cannot extract all relevant compounds at an acceptable rate of recovery. This study presents a new extraction method. This new method facilitated the identification of 231 compounds, including 196 pesticides, 11 mycotoxins, and 24 PAHs over a broad range of polarities. These compounds were identified in various sample matrices, including those that are lipid-rich. The processed sample is first extracted with water, acetonitrile, formic acid, and heptane. The addition of ammonium formate results in separation into three phases and enables analysis of the aqueous phase. Solid-phase extraction clean-up procedures were performed as necessary followed by analysis by liquid or gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Analyte recoveries were typically in the range of 70 - 120% with relative standard deviations below 20%.

Adverse effects on sexual development in rat offspring after low dose exposure to a mixture of endocrine disrupting pesticides.

The present study investigated whether a mixture of low doses of five environmentally relevant endocrine disrupting pesticides, epoxiconazole, mancozeb, prochloraz, tebuconazole and procymidone, would cause adverse developmental toxicity effects in rats. In rat dams, a significant increase in gestation length was seen, while in male offspring increased nipple retention and increased incidence and severity of genital malformations were observed. Severe mixture effects on gestation length, nipple retention and genital malformations were seen at dose levels where the individual pesticides caused no or smaller effects when given alone. Generally, the mixture effect predictions based on dose-additivity were in good agreement with the observed effects. The results indicate that there is a need for modification of risk assessment procedures for pesticides, in order to take account of the mixture effects and cumulative intake, because of the potentially serious impact of mixed exposure on development and reproduction in humans.