Pesticide Residue Testing
The Eurofins | Environment Testing NZ network of laboratories' pesticide division is IANZ-accredited and has the largest testing scope available with over 550 compounds.
Pesticides are chemicals used in agriculture to protect crops against insects, fungi, weeds and other pests. In addition to their use in agriculture, pesticides are also used to protect public health in controlling the vectors of tropical diseases, such as mosquitoes.
Pesticide residue refers to the pesticides that may remain on or in food after pesticide formulations are applied to food crops. As pesticides are potentially toxic to humans, the levels of residues in foods are often stipulated by regulatory bodies in many countries.
New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Codex, and other Regulatory Bodies' Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) are based on Good Agricultural Practice data. The MRLs for foods derived from commodities that comply with the respective Codex, or other Regulatory Body, are intended to be toxicologically acceptable.
We are able to test the following food matrices:
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The Eurofins | Environment Testing network of laboratories across New Zealand can analyse the following compounds by our GC-MSMS and LC-MSMS screens.
The analytical testing of food products is defined by international convention, published in a document called the Codex Alimentarius. This is published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations World Health Organisation. This 183-page document has been summarised in the table below which represents the food matrices that The Eurofins | Environment Testing network of laboratories across New Zealand are able to test:
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Codex Commodity Group |
Common Properties |
Commodity Class |
Representative Species |
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I. |
High water and chlorophyll content |
Leafy vegetables Brassica leafy vegetables Legume vegetables |
Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, kale, parsley, green beans |
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II. |
High water and low or no chlorophyll content |
Pome fruits Stone fruits Berries Small fruits Fruiting vegetables Root vegetables |
Apple, pear Peach, cherry Strawberry Grape Tomato, bell pepper, melon Mushroom, potato, carrot |
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III. |
High acid content |
Citrus fruits |
Lemon, orange, kiwifruit |
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IV. |
High sugar content |
Dried or processed fruit |
Raisins, dates, fruit jams, fruit juices |
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V. |
High oil or fat |
Oil seeds |
Avocado, sunflower seeds, olives, walnut, pecan nut, pistachios |
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VI. |
Dry materials |
Cereals Cereal products |
Wheat flour, rice, maize, grains, wheat flour, wheat bran |
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Products of Animal Origin |
Dairy origin |
Milk Processed Milk |
Whole milk, skimmed milk, WMP, SMP, butter milk, butter, cheese, infant formula, WPC |
Acid Herbicides
In recent years the older style of volatile and non-polar residue compounds have been replaced by more polar, thermo-labile, less volatile, easily degradable compounds. Acid herbicides fall into this class and are found in wide use around the world because of their relative cheapness and effectiveness as broad-leaf weed killers in grain crops.
Acid herbicides readily dissolve in water due to their polarity having half-lives in soil and water, ranging from weeks to months depending on the prevailing environmental conditions such as pH and light intensity.
Testing for these compounds is a requirement under many resource consents, for drinking water compliance and for compliance with Ministry for Primary Industries export requirements.
The Eurofins | Environment Testing network of laboratories across New Zealand can test your samples in these matrices as well as soil and sludge.
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Acid Herbicides |
New Zealand Drinking Water Standard (NZDWS) |
MPI Exports |
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Test Code |
Detection Limit |
NZDWS Limit |
Test Code |
RLP Limit |
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2,4-D |
W-AH001 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.04 mg/L |
LS-AH001 |
0.04 mg/L |
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2,4-DB |
W-AH004 |
<0.005 mg/L |
0.1 mg/L |
LS-AH002 |
0.1 mg/L |
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2, 4, 5-T |
W-AH007 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.01 mg/L |
LS-AH003 |
0.01 mg/L |
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Acifluorfen |
W-AH010 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Bentazone |
W-AH013 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Bromoxynil |
W-AH016 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Dicamba |
W-AH019 |
<0.005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Dichlorprop |
W-AH022 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.1 mg/L |
LS-AH004 |
0.1 mg/L |
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Dinoseb |
W-AH025 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Fenoprop |
W-AH028 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.01 mg/L |
LS-AH005 |
0.01 mg/L |
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MCPA |
W-AH031 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.002 mg/L |
LS-AH006 |
0.002 mg/L |
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MCPB |
W-AH034 |
<0.005 mg/L |
No Limit Listed |
Not required to be tested |
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Mecoprop |
W-AH037 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.01 mg/L |
LS-AH007 |
0.01 mg/L |
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Pentachlorophenol |
W-AH040 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.009 mg/L |
LS-AH008 |
0.009 mg/L |
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Picloram |
W-AH043 |
<0.005 mg/L |
0.02 mg/L |
LS-AH009 |
0.02 mg/L |
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Triclopyr |
W-AH046 |
<0.0005 mg/L |
0.1 mg/L |
LS-AH010 |
0.1 mg/L |
Please contact us for more information, or download our Pesticides Residue Testing brochure.
IANZ Accreditation Numbers: Biological 639, Drinking Water 787, Chemistry 414, RLP 1140
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