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The aim of this paper was to assess residue content of plant protection products in selected herbs: Achillea millefolium L., Cichorium intybus L., Equisetum arvense L., Polygonum persicaria L., Plantago lanceolata L., and Plantago major L. The study comprises herbs growing in their natural habitat, 1 and 10 m away from crop fields. The herbs, 30 plants of each species, were sampled during the flowering stage between 1 and 20 July 2014. Pesticide residue content was measured with the QuECHERS method in the dry matter of leaves, stalks, and inflorescence, all mixed together. Out of six herb species growing close to wheat and maize fields, pesticide residues were found in three species: A. millefolium L., E. arvense L., and P. lanceolata L. Most plants containing the residues grew 1 m away from the wheat field. Two active substances of fungicides were found: diphenylamine and tebuconazole, and one active substance of insecticides: chlorpyrifos-ethyl. Those substances are illegal to use on herbal plants. Samples of E. arvense L. and P. lanceolata L. contained two active substances each, which constituted 10 % of all samples, while A. millefolium L. contained one substance, which is 6.6 % of all samples.

This paper presents the results of the audit on pesticide residues in cereal grains throughout Poland in 2013. The number of all samples of cereal grains was 380. Altogether 292 active substances of plant protection products were checked in the audit. Qualitative and quantative analyses were done according to Polish Standard PN-EN 15562:2008, using the LC-MS/MS technique. The methods (QuEChERS) is based on extraction of residues of plant protection products from a sample using acetonitrile. In the samples analyzed, 62 % of them did not contain any pesticide residues, 34 % of samples of cereal grains contained such residues but below the maximum residue limit, 3 % contained residues over the maximum limit, whereas 1 % of the samples contained illegal substances. The lowest amounts of pesticide residues were found in cereal grains coming from fields with cereal mixtures and in Avena grains, while the highest amounts were in Hordeum and Triticum grains. The substances found most often were fungicide residues. In northern and southern regions of Poland (Silesian, Pomeranian, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships), cereal grains with pesticide residues were much more common than in other regions of Poland.