RDE719 Pesticide residue analysis - laboratory validation

This project will involve UK CEH analysing a set of 20 honey samples for a suite of pesticides. The same samples will also be analysed by Fera in a separate piece of work. This will enable a comparison of the reported pesticide residue values between the two different labs, which will allow us to: a) identify and benchmark any anomalies; b) validate the approaches taken by both labs; and c) ultimately give us confidence in using both labs for residue analysis into the future.

Aims

This project will need to: • Quantify pesticide residues from organic honey samples that were spiked with pesticides last year (10 samples stored under ambient conditions and 10 frozen). • Undertake a comparison of quantified residues from UK CEH analysis and Fera analysis. • Develop proposals for next steps depending on the outcomes. • Report all the above findings into Defra.