A Study on the Removal of Pesticide Residues on Potatoes Using Moringa oleifera Seed as a Food Safety Measure

Abstract

Moringa oleifera (MO) is a plant whose seeds possess strong coagulation properties capable of removing turbidity and heavy metals from water. In this study, the effectiveness of MO seeds as a potential pesticide removal apparatus for agricultural produce was investigated. The parameters of interest for each pesticide washing solution were pesticide-concentration reduction, cost, and taste alteration to the potatoes. Separate doses of 0.25 mL profenofos 500 EC were individually applied to distinct 250 g pesticide-free potato piles. A submersion of each tainted potato pile was carried out in one of the chosen pesticide baths (mineral water, 2% salt solution, 10% salt solution, vegetable bath wash, and 10 g MO seed) for 10 min, followed by a 10 second mineral water bath rinse. Remaining profenofos residue concentrations on potatoes were quantified using the quick, easy, cheap, rugged, and simple QuEChERs method coincided with High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The experiments showed that the MO seed was the most effective at removing profenofos at 52.9% followed by the vegetable bath at 47.3%. Neither method caused an alteration in food taste, but the MO seed method is significantly cheaper at 2,000/L IDR ($0.14 USD) compared to the vegetable bath at IDR 10,668/L ($0.77 USD) at the time of the experiment, respectively.