Economic evaluation of pesticide- residue analysis of vegetables J. Martı ´nez-del-Rı ´o, J.L. Martı ´nez Vidal, A. Garrido Frenich Available online 3 January 2013 Nowadays, control of pesticide residues (PRs) in food must be conducted in accredited laboratories, using advanced analytical methods that achieve the low maximum residue levels established in regulations. In addition, laboratories have to meet customersÕ requirements in terms of time and cost of analysis. Consequently, PR analysis (PRA) requires non-laborious sample treatments, in order to increase sample throughput, in combination with gas or liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. However, it is necessary to consider the economics of the process to ensure the viability of PRA laboratories. The price of this type of analysis has not increased in the past decade, and the operational costs, mainly equipment and personnel, have increased significantly. In this article, we provide a methodology to assess the effective capacity and the break-even point of a PRA laboratory, and the tools to evaluate the profitability of acquisitions of new equipment. ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cost analysis; Effective capacity analysis; Employee cost; Equipment productivity; Laboratory productivity; Multi-residue method; Pesticide-residue analysis (PRA); Pesticide standard; Quality control (QC); Vegetable 1. Introduction European Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 [1] addressing the movement of chemicals requires harmonized measures that guar- antee human health and environmental protection. AuthoritiesÕ and end consum- ersÕ growing concerns about assuring pesticide-residue (PR)-free vegetables have fostered the development of legal norms emphasizing the analytical methods used in PR analysis (PRA) [2,3]. Specifically, current regulations determine the features of analytical instruments and procedures for the validation of the analytical meth- ods and the guidelines for the quality control (QC) of the analysis. Thereby, the quality of the analytical data is based on keystones that entail considerable eco- nomic costs. PRA laboratories provide analytical information that is essential to support important regulatory decisions on human health. Laboratories test the compliance of food and environmental samples with maximum residue levels (MRLs) that are regulated by a wide variety of pesticide and commodity combinations [4,5]. Very often, a default MRL is applied, unless a specific one is established, and it varies by country or political area. For instance, the default MRL in the European Union (EU) and Japan is 0.01 mg/kg, while Canada and New Zealand establish it at 0.1 mg/ kg. Taking into account the low MRLs required, the analytical methods used for their control must meet a number of technical specifications, e.g.: (1) high sensitivity and selectivity; (2) unambiguous confirmation of the identity of any residue detected; and, (3) proper quantification of any com- pound detected. Moreover, analytical results delivered without any quality statements should be considered counterproductive [6]. In addition, PRA laboratories must be accredited in accordance with the ISO 17025 standard [7], in order to get com- parable and traceable measurements. This implies, among other issues, use of fully- validated methods (including uncertainty estimation), application of internal QC activities and participation in proficiency testing. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) [8] defines quality assurance as ‘‘all those planned and sys- tematic actions carried out within the quality management system, necessary to provide adequate confidence in the fact that a unit will fulfill the requirements for quality’’. Quality management must J. Martı ´nez-del-Rı ´o Department of Economics and Business Administration, University of Almerı ´a, E-04120, Spain J.L. Martı ´nez Vidal, A. Garrido Frenich*, Department of Hydrogeology and Analytical Chemistry, Research Centre for Agricultural and Food Biotechnology (BITAL), University of Almerı ´a, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence, ceiA3, E-04120 Almerı ´a, Spain * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 950 015 985; Fax: +34 950 015 483.; E-mail: agarrido@ual.es, Trends Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 44, No. , 2013 90 0165-9936/$ - see front matter ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2012.11.008