Purpose: The aim of this study was to detect pesticide residues in 132 Brazilian raw milk samples collected from bulk tanks in dairy farms of Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
Methods: Raw milk samples were submitted to detection of 12 analytes for each sample, including drugs used to control endo and ectoparasites in cattle. Avermectins were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in tandem and Pyrethroids by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The pesticides groups and analytes with Maximum Residue Limit based on Brazilian threshold (µg/kg) were: a) Avermectins: Abamectin (10.0), Doramectin (15.0), Eprinomectin (20.0), Ivermectin, and Moxidectin (10.0/each); b) Pyrethroids: γ-Cyhalothrin and λ-Cyalothrin (25.0/each), Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin (20.0/each), Fenvalerate (40.0), and Permethrin (50.0).
Results: It was noted that 101 samples (76.51%) were negative for all the analytes and although 12 (9.09%) showed positive to at least one analyte, 93.18% of the samples were in agreement with Brazilian legislation. Although residues of Abamectin (5.30%), Doramectin (2.27%), Ivermectin (7.58%), Cypermethrin (9.09%), and Deltamethrin (1.52%) have been detected, only Cypermethrin was detected above the Brazilian MRL (6.82%) with concentrations up to 12.55 times above the MRL (20.0 µg/kg). Considering the legal values described by Codex Alimentarius and by countries such as United States of America and Japan (50.0 µg/kg), it can be noted that 3.03% of the samples showed values above these thresholds.
Significance: It can be concluded that Cypermethrin is the main pesticide found in raw milk from Minas Gerais State and since it represents a risk to public health, corrective actions must be adopted by dairy farms to avoid milk contamination and problems for consumers.