Three-year study of fenthion and dimethoate pesticides in olive oil from organic and conventional cultivation

Residues of fenthion and dimethoate pesticides were determined in organic and conventional olive oils by liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions with subsequent gas chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis. The olive oil samples were collected from Crete during 1997-99. The average concentrations of fenthion in conventional olive oils were 0.1222, 0.145 and 0.1702 mg x kg(-1), and for dimethoate were 0.0226, 0.0264 and 0.0271 mg x kg(-1) for 1997, 1998 and 1999, respectively. The average concentrations of fenthion in organic olive oils were 0.0215, 0.0099 and 0.0035 mg x kg(-1) for 1997, 1998 and 1999, while for dimethoate they were 0.0098, 0.0038 and 0.0010 mg x kg(-1), respectively. All the olive oils contained residue levels lower than the maximum residue levels according to the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius. The organic olive oil contained significantly lower concentrations of the two pesticides. The levels of fenthion and dimethoate in organic olive oils exhibited a decreasing trend following the implementation of the new cultivation method. We propose procedures that should be established in the organic cultivation in order to maximize its effectiveness.