Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Grape and Wine

At the present time the world area designated for grape cultivation is about 8 million hectares with a global production of about 270 million hectoliters of wine. 

The Mediterranean area leads the world in grape cultivation. Whilst France and Italy are the two main producers, in the last ten years Italy -with more than 58 million hectoliters of wine - has produced more than any other country. The area cultivated in Italy is about 800 thousand hectares and the percentage production of wine grape and table grape is around 92% and 8%, respectively. 

Hyphenated Techniques in Grape and Wine Chemistry Edited by Riccardo Flamini 2008 John Wiley Sons, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-470-06187-9 

It is commonly considered that a pesticide is not present if the residue is below 0.01 mg/kg which is accepted as legal zero. Bear in mind that the legal limit of the residue does not coincide with the toxicological limit and, for this reason, when this limit is exceeded it does not pose a risk to human health. The legal limit is fixed on toxicological data that do not determine any human health risk (NOEL no observed effect level) and is commonly corrected by a safety factor of 100 and on residues determined in field experiments when the residue is below the toxicological limit (Cabras, 2003). 

Field residues, if below the toxicological limit (acceptable daily intake), are used to set the legal limit. The residues of pesticides in the field experiment are affected by the environmental conditions such as temperature, wind, rain, solar irradiance etc. For this reason, residues limits (MRLs) can vary between countries because of the different climatic conditions, leading to EU trade difficulties. 

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Cabras, P. and Caboni, P. (2008). Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Grape and Wine, In Hyphenated Techniques in Grape Wine Chemistry, Riccardo Flamini, (Ed.) John Wiley Son, Ltd., pp. 227-248. 

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