Concentration of Pesticide Residue in Beans and Maize Grains in Bodija Market, Ibadan, Nigeria

Excessive pesticide application for food preservation constitutes a public health hazard. Cases of food poisoning from pesticide residue have been reported but little effort has been made on good pesticide application practices and Pesticide residue analysis. This study assessed levels of Pesticide residue in beans and maize grains in Bodija market, Ibadan. Nine composites, each comprising 14 grab samples of beans were collected from 3 sources: A, B, C, from 126 beans sellers. Six composites, each comprising 24 grab samples of maize were collected from 2 sources: X and X, from 144 maize sellers. Samples were 1 2 collected in triplicate by Systematic Sampling Technique. Collected samples were prepared and analyzed with Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry. Mean concentration of Pesticide residue in food samples were compared with codex standard (2ppm). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Mean concentration of Pesticide residue in beans A,B and C were:253+34.9ppm, 4.8+3.2ppm,16.2+13.6ppm (p<0.05), while that of maize X1 and X2 were 0.62+0.04 ppm and 0.65+0.06 ppm respectively. The concentration of Pesticide residue in the beans was high, thus toxic to human while that of maize was within Codex acceptable limits. Therefore, education on pesticide use and promotion of good pesticide application should be adopted