Validation study of quantification of some pyrethroid residues in sheep meat and milk by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, employing the modified QuEChERS method

The wide spectrum properties and benefits of pyrethroid (PYR) compounds have led to their extensive usage in agriculture and livestock, and this has caused accumulation in animal tissues and, in turn, animal products, causing negative health effects on consumers. This study developed a method to measure three pesticide residues in two different matrices, including sheep meat and milk. The study was conducted using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) combined with the “quick easy cheap effective rugged safe” (QuEChERS) method for sample extraction. The validation was also conducted by firstly, accuracy including recovery, which ranged between 80.6% to 96.85%, and 91.5% to 103% for meat and milk samples, respectively, giving an overall recovery standard range of 70.0–120%. Secondly, precision, including reproducibility of the measurements, was between 0.4 to 9.2% for sheep meat, and 0.7 to 12.3% for milk, respectively, which were in a typical precision level (≤19%) set by SANTE/11813/2017 criteria. Monitoring was carried out on livestock products randomly collected from local markets in Sulaimaniyah. The detected pesticide residue levels in meat samples were found to be below the established maximum residue limits (MRLs), whereas residues in milk samples exceeded the permissible thresholds. Owing to its high analytical efficiency, reproducibility, and straightforward operational procedure, the developed method is well-suited for routine surveillance of multiple PYR residues in livestock products with varying fat contents, including both high-fat (meat) and low-fat (milk) matrices.