It is well known that long lived compounds are more difficult to work with, and can persist in the environment for decades following their use. In the case of trace levels of pesticides on produce, however, even short-lived compounds may persist beyond harvest at levels that are unacceptable to regulatory agencies, and may even pose potential harm to the consumer.
In these cases, mitigation measures such as reduced rates, extended pre-harvest intervals, limits on the number of applications, or the use of buffer zones in ecologically sensitive areas are often employed to protect the environment and the consumer at large.
The staff at AGFORENSICS has a well respected reputation in farm chemical management and has published on many of the farm products in use today. Over the past 30 years, our staff has established numerous half-lives of pesticides, studied the movement of volatiles, and has developed methods for minimizing their persistence in our food supply and the environment.
The equipment inventory at both the San Luis Obispo, California and Dover, Florida facilities include many specialized sampling devices. These include tractor mounted soil sampling units for of cores up to 10 m in depth; air sampling instruments such as VOC meters, air filtration pumps coupled with gas chromatography, and field olfactometers at our laboratories on both US mainland coasts. Among other uses, these tools allow us to determine the extent of drift or off-target movement of substances applied to crops. With fresh fruits and vegetables, field-gate sampling, transportation and storage conditions in supply chain management, are all studied for their impact to trace levels of pesticides in the market basket.
In summary, this level of expertise is simply unavailable outside of a few major universities or key agrochemical manufacturer's laboratories.
88 Monterey Highway, Salinas, CA 93908
1840 Biddle Ranch Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
13138 Lewis Gallagher Road, Dover, FL 33527
Phone: (805) 594-1700 / Email: info@agforensics.com
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