# Exploring the Potential of Microextraction in the Survey of Food Fruits and Vegetable Safety
## 2 Extraction Approaches Used to Assess Food Safety
### Conventional Extraction Approaches
Consequently, it was able to extract a broader range of pesticides and achieved recovery levels of 60-120% (RSD values of 2-28%) and LODs of 0.5-1 ug kg\({}^{-1}\). The use of QuEChERS/dSPE as an extraction approach for multi-residue analysis has become very popular and many more examples can be found in the literature [89; 90; 91; 92; 93]. [PERSON] et al. [94] used QuEChERS/HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS for the determination of DDT congeners and four HCH isomers in khat samples. The results showed that all samples had HCH above the MRL set by the EC and, in general, HCH was found at higher concentrations than DDT. Regarding antibiotics, three works were found employing UAE with commercially available SPE cartridges. [PERSON] et al. [95] extracted ten antibiotics from different vegetables (lettuce, tomato, caulflower, broad beans) using the Strata-X SPE cartridge, while [PERSON] et al. [96] and [PERSON] et al. [9] employed the Oasis PRiME HLB cartridges to extract and quantified seven antibiotics from vegetables and 81 antibiotics from banana and cabbage samples, respectively. The most ideal LODs, in the range 0.001-0.26 ng g\({}^{-1}\), were achieved by [PERSON] et al. [9], which were certainly boosted by the higher sensitivity of the analytical instruments used (UHPLC-MS/MS). Parabens are food preservatives still widely used despite the controversies around their toxic effects on human health [97]. [PERSON] et al. [98] employed SLE as a rapid extraction method to survey the presence of five parabens in fruits and vegetables from the local market in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The authors used methanol (MeOH) as the extraction solvent and achieved LODs of 0.005-5 ug g\({}^{-1}\). [PERSON] et al. [99] also used SLE for the analysis of gallic acid, rutin, and quercetin in tomato samples. The reported method, however, involved 1 h of stirring during the SLE step. [PERSON] et al. [100] extracted 24 endocrine disruption compounds (EDCs) in different fruits and vegetables using UAS/SPE. The method proposed involved 10 mL of water reconstitution after UAS extraction and 400 \(\mu\)L of acetonitrile (ACN) elution before GC-MS analysis. [PERSON] et al. [101] employed QuEChERS/dSPE for the determination of preservatives in juice samples and reported LODs ranging from 8.14 to 25.45 ng L\({}^{-1}\). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l l} \hline \hline
**Extraction Method** & **Description/Analytical Technique** & **Contaminants/LODs** & **Matrix** & **Ref.** \\ \hline \hline \multirow{6}{*}{\
\begin{tabular}{l} SLE/SALE-dSPE \\ \end{tabular} } & 5 g spiked sample; 10 mL phosphate & \\  & buffer (pH 6.7); \(\text{ACN}/\text{H}_{2}\text{O}\) (83:17; \(v/v\)); & \\  & NaCl/Na\({}_{2}\text{SO}_{4}\) (40.50; \(w/w\)); upper layer & \\  & collection; dry. & \\  & Clean-up step: redissolved (10 mL H\({}_{2}\)O); & Thiacloprid/0.03 \(\mu\)g mL\({}^{-1}\) & Citrus, guava, \\  & Florisil cartridge; elution (20 mL DCM); & \\  & dry; reususpension (1 mL & \\  & MP)/HPLC-DAD & \\ \hline \multirow{6}{*}{
\begin{tabular}{l} SLE/LTP \\ (8.5 h)/GC-ECD \\ \end{tabular} } & 4 g sample; 4 mL KCN; agitation (10 min); & Azoxystrobin, \\  & centrifugation (3 min); freezer & difenoconazole, \\ \cline{1-1}  & (8.5 h)/GC-ECD & chlorothalonil/ & Bell peppers [77] \\ \cline{1-1}  & & 0.12–1.73 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Recent examples of chromatographic methodologies reported for the determination of contaminants in fruits and vegetables involving conventional extraction approaches.