Costa Rica upgrades pesticide-residue testing for fruit and vegetables

Costa Rica’s State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) has invested around CRC 416 million (about USD 921,000) in new laboratory equipment to strengthen testing of fresh plant products and agricultural pesticides, informs the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

More than CRC 257 million (about USD 569,000) went to a new LC-MS/MS system for the Pesticide Residue Analysis Laboratory. It can confirm and measure pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables with greater sensitivity and expand testing to more active substances, including newer compounds.

A second investment of CRC 159 million (about USD 352,000) equipped the Quality Control Laboratory with a UHPLC-MS/MS system. Its role is different: it will look for impurities in pesticide samples, including unauthorised substances or concentrations above permitted limits.

SFE said the upgrade is intended to strengthen chemical food-safety surveillance while improving the reliability of services used by Costa Rican agriculture and supporting the country’s position in domestic and export markets.

source and photo: mag.go.cr