Determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in honey, applying solid phase extraction with RP-C18 material

In this study, a new clean up method was developed for the routine multiresidue determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in honey. The analytical procedure requires sample extraction with methanol, followed by a clean up step through a C18 Sep-Pak cartridge. Finally, pesticides are eluted with hexane. The determination of organochlorine pesticide residues was performed by capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The mean recoveries of 18 organochlorine pesticides were estimated at various concentrations and found very efficient in most cases. The detection limits were found to be between 0.05 and 0.20 microgram kg-1.