This book provides a critical overview of analytical methods used for the determination of pesticide residues and other contaminants in food and environmental samples by modern instrumental analysis. It contains up-to-date material including recent trends in sample preparation, general methods used for pesticide analysis and quality assurance aspects, and chromatographic and immunoassay methods. The rest of the book describes particular analytical methods used for the determination of pesticides in food and soil, water and air. In addition, the levels of these chemicals found in food, their regulatory aspects and the monitoring of pesticides in the environment are described.

José L. Tadeo, PhD in chemistry, is a Full Research Professor at the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology in Madrid, Spain. He graduated in chemistry in June 1972 from the University of Valencia and began his research career at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, in Valencia, investigating on natural components of plants with insecticide activity. In 1976, he was engaged in the research of analytical methodologies for the determination of pesticide residues in food, water, and soil at the Jealott's Hill Research Station in UK.

In 1977, Dr Tadeo was a research scientist at the Institute for Agricultural Research, in Valencia, where his work focused on the study of chemical composition of citrus fruits and the behavior of fungicides used during postharvest of fruits.

In 1988, he became a senior researcher at the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology. During his stay at the Plant Protection Department, the main research lines were the analysis of herbicide residues and the study of their persistence and mobility in soil.

Since 1998 he leads the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory at the Environment Department of the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology. His current research is the analysis of pesticides and other contaminants in food and environmental matrices and the evaluation of the exposure to biocides and existing chemicals. His expertise is documented by the publication of over 200 research papers, monographs, and book chapters on these topics, an H index of 36 and the supervision of 10 doctoral thesis. Dr Tadeo has been a member of national and international working groups for the evaluation of chemicals, and he is currently involved in the assessment of biocides at European and international level.