The current methods for determining pesticide residues in food are time-consuming, expensive and labour intensive. An improved method has been developed by MPOB – QuEChERS, an acronym for quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe. The method is applicable to a wide range of herbicides and foods , using the LC MS/ MS technique to simultaneously identify and quantify a large number of herbicides in foods. Glufosinate ammonium is the common name for ammonium-2-amino–4-(hydroxymethylphos phinyl)-butanoate (C5 H15NO4 P), sold commercially as Basta. The structure is shown in Figure 1. The crystals are colourless with a melting point of 216°C. The molecular weight is 198.16 and the solubility 1370 mg litre-1 and 0.16 mg litre-1 at 20°C in water and acetone, respectively.

Main Research: Norizah Halim