PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN THE SAUDI ARABIA KINGDOM

This paper presents from surveillance of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables carried out in summer, 2009. 242 samples of 19 different types of fresh fruit and vegetables were analyzed for their pesticide residues contents. The highest residues found were captan residues (2.41 mg/kg), malathion residues (1.82 mg/kg), parathion-methyl residues (1.5 mg/kg), both of dazinon and carbaryl, tabulated the same results (1.41 mg/kg), Pirimiphos-methyl residues (1.38 mg/kg), chlorpyrifos residues (1.2 mg/kg), vinclozolin residues (1.09mg/kg), and cypermethrin residues (1.00 mg/kg). On the most cases pesticide residues occurred on levels well below the national codex MRLs. The data also indicated that, 18 samples (7.44% of samples) contain residues above their maximum residue limits (MRLs) of the methods applied.