DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2021.v09i11.002

Pages: 333-338

This study was part of a basic assessment of the level of contamination of precooked fonio by pesticide residues in Bamako. Thus, 36 samples of precooked fonio were collected. The active ingredients of five organochlorine pesticides (op’ DDT, pp’ DDT, Endosulfans α and β and Dieldrin), categorized as persistent and obsolete organic pollutants in Mali, have been investigated and quantified by gas chromatography. The results showed high rates of pesticide residues contamination in the tested precooked fonio samples into twenty nine of 36 samples (75%). About 59% of the samples have contained two or more pesticides while 30% three or more pesticides. The Endosulfan β was the most detected pesticides (15 times) in our samples followed by the pp’ DDT (13 times). The total pesticides residues per samples of the five pesticides active ingredients have varied from 0.037 to 1.874 mg/kg. In other side, the total residues per individual pesticide varied from 3.377 mg/kg for op’ DDT to 0.984 mg/kg for Dieldrin. According to the Codex Alimentarius norms, the most of the tested precooked fonio are unsafety for consumption. These data showed that these organochlorine pesticides are present in our foodstuffs despite their prohibition.