Effect of Cooking and Freezing on Levels of pesticides residues in Local Fresh Fish

Pesticides are an important part of pests controlling strategies. Misuse of such chemicals has been linked to pollution of various environments and toxicities that lead to various health conditions and diseases. Importance of healthy and non-contaminated fish for human diet is essentially required. Samples of 14 local fresh fish (tilapia, grey mullet, and cat fish) were analyzed for seven pesticides (endosulfan, heptachlor, malathion, chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, and fenoxycarb) using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Heat processing applied for positive samples by two different cooking method (roasting at 79 °C for 10 min and frying at 210 °C for 40 min) have influenced the levels of studied pesticides and significantly reduced their levels by 53-95%. Freezing preservation of contaminated fish at -70 °C for one month only reduced the level of the pesticides by 6-30%, however, final reduced levels were not below recommended maximum residue limit values.