• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.249-259
• /
• 2022

This study investigated pesticide residues in 7,069 agricultural products distributed in the city of Incheon from 2019 to 2021. Ingestion of pesticides can cause serious carcinogenic, endocrine, neurological, and reproductive problems. Pesticide residues in the samples were analyzed using various multi-residue methods (GC-MS/MS, GC-ECD/NPD, LC-MS/MS, and HPLC-UVD) on the Korean Food Code. The violation rate of the samples exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL) of pesticide residues for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 was 1.0%, 1.4%, and 1.1%, respectively. Diazinon, flubendiamide, procymidone, fluxametamide, and fluquinconazole were the most frequently reported violative pesticide residues. Most commonly encountered agricultural products exceeding MRLs were coriander leaves, chamnamul, chwinamul, welsh onion, and crown daisy. Agricultural products and pesticides frequently exceeding MRLs should be continuously inspected for food safety. Continuous monitoring of pesticide residues in agricultural products is indispensable to improve consumer safety by preventing the distribution of agricultural products exceeding MRLs.