Residues of Chlorpyriphos in Bovine Milk in Punjab, India

Total 324 samples of pasteurized milk with 4.5% fat were collected from depots of milk plants of The Punjab State Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation (MILKFED) located in nine districts in Punjab. The residues of chlorpyriphos were detected in 20 samples (6.2%) ranging from 0.01–1.35 µg g⁻¹. Eleven of these samples were found to be above the extraneous residue limit (ERL) of 0.01 µg g⁻¹. The maximum chlorpyriphos contaminated samples were from Bathinda. The occurrence of residues of chlorpyriphos can be attributed to its wide use in agriculture in Punjab.