Analysis of 207 residual pesticides in hot pepper powder using LC–MS/MS

This study investigated the determination of 207 pesticides in hot pepper powder and found patterns of pesticide use by production from five regions, detecting a total of 50 pesticides. The LOD, LOQ and recoveries of pesticides were 0.08–2.53, 0.25–7.60 μg kg⁻¹, and 81.0–132.1%, respectively. The Horrat values ranged from 0.07 to 1.97. A total of 50 residual pesticides were detected in 963 hot pepper powder samples. All residual pesticide levels were below the Korean maximum residue level (MRL) and the %ADI was ≤ 0.001–0.076%. Seven pesticides had a detection rate above 50% (tebuconazole, pyraclostrobin, etofenprox, flonicamid, imidacloprid, carbendazim, and flubendiamide). The region where the most pesticide types were detected was Ham-pyeong with 38 types. Tebuconazole had detection rates of > 90% in all regions. In the PCA results with factor analysis, each region shows patterns of pesticide use. Four regions focus on Aphidoidea control and one region on Colletotrichum acutatum control.