Monitoring of 260 pesticides in extra virgin olive oil and risk assessment for consumers within the framework of the European multiannual control program

The aim of the present research was to develop and validate a robust analytical method for the monitoring of 260 pesticide residues in Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) expanding the 185 molecules requested by the multiannual control program. The analytical procedure included an ultrasound-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction followed by low-pressure gas chromatography (LP-GC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), both coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Matrix-matched calibration curves showed good linearity with coefficients of determination greater than 0.999. Accuracy values ranged from 65.5 % to 122.3 % and from 61.1 % to 133.3 % for LP-GC and UHPLC, respectively. The recoveries ranged from 14.0 % to 131.3 %. Fifty commercial EVOO, from Italian and EU production, were analyzed to assess pesticide contamination during the 2021-2023 harvesting seasons. The research focused on evaluating consumer risk by assessing both chronic and acute dietary exposure, using the Pesticide Residue Intake Model developed by EFSA.