Objectives The wide use of pesticides raises serious
concerns regarding food safety and environmental impacts.
There is increasing public concern about the potential
health risks linked with exposure to pesticides. Regulation
of maximum residue limits (MRL) of pesticide residues in
food commodities has been established in many developed
countries. For developing countries, like Thailand, this
regulation often exists in law, but is not completely enforced
in practice. Thus, pesticide residue levels in vegetables
and fruits have not been thoroughly monitored. The
present study aimed to examine potential health risks associated
with pesticide exposure by determining the pesticide
residues in two commonly consumed fruits,
watermelon and durian.
Methods The fruit samples were purchased from markets
in central provinces of Thailand and assayed for the content
of 28 pesticides. Analysis of pesticides was performed by
multiresidue extraction and followed by GC–MS/MS
detection.
Results Of 28 pesticides investigated, 5 were detected in
90.7 % of the watermelon samples (n = 75) and 3 in 90 %
of durian samples (n = 30). Carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, diazinon,
dimethoate and metalaxyl were found in watermelons,
whereas dichlorvos, dimethoate and metalaxyl