Determination of Acaricide Residues in Saudi Arabian Honey and Beeswax Using Solid Phase Extraction and Gas Chromatography

tAnalytical Chemistry Branch, Biological and Economic Analysis Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland, USA 2Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Determination of acaricide residues of flumethrin, tau-fluvalinate, coumaphos, and amitraz in honey and beeswax was carried out using a rapid extraction method uti¬lizing C-18 SPE cartridges and an analytical method utilizing GC with ECD, NPD, and MSD detectors for the four acaricides. Recovery percentages from the extraction method ranged from 90-102%, while the minimum detection levels ranged from 0.01-0.05 mg/kg for the acaricides. Nine ofthe 21 analyzed samples were found to be contaminated with the acaricides tau-fluvalinate and coumaphos. Neither flumethrin nor amitraz was de¬tected in any ofthe honey or wax samples. Coumaphos was found only in honey samples in which two samples exceeded the tolerance levels set by EPA and EC regulations. It has not been detected in beeswax. Five honey samples and eight beeswax samples were found to be contaminated with tau-fluvalinate. One of the wax samples was contami¬nated with a relatively high residue oftau-fluvalinate and contained above 10 mg/kg