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Two different weight groups of farmed Labeo rohita were collected from fish hatchery, Satiana Road Faisalabad, Pakistan. Pesticide residues were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HPLC analysis showed that seven pesticide residues (α-endosulfan, DDE, parathion methyl, isoproturon, atrazine, carbofuran, and deltamethrin) were detected in L. rohita in weight group W 1.Six pesticide residues (α-endosulfan, parathion methyl, isoproturon, atrazine, carbaryl, and carbofuran) were found in L. rohita weight group W 2. The overall comparison between two weight groups of L. rohita showed that maximal concentration of pesticide residues were observed in underweight group W 2 compared to W 1 weight group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pesticide residues become part of our diet, having a lot of negative impacts on human health, but farmers are unaware. • It is difficult to completely remove the use of pesticides from the F&V supply chain, there was need of a strategy which could be used at household level. • Sonolytic ozonation (O 3 /US) is an innovative technique, never tested for its potential in removal of pesticides using a household machine. • Current documentation will contribute towards improving food safety. High pesticide residues in fresh produce is a serious food safety issue. This study was aimed at assessing the pesticides residues in some important vegetables and fruits marketed in Faisalabad, Pakistan and the impact of sonolytic ozonation (O 3 /US) treatment in removing these contaminants. From a short grower's survey, five registered and mostly used pesticides (acetamiprid, carbendazim, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam) were identified. A time optimization trial of O 3 /US application (05, 10 and 15 min) on okra, showed that 10 min treatment significantly reduced three identified chemicals (thiamethoxam 100 %, imidacloprid and thiacloprid 97.17 %), without any adverse effect on its quality. In follow up trial, five fresh vegetables (cauliflower, chillies, cucumber, spinach and tomato) three fresh fruits (grapes, guava and peach) collected from three markets of Faisalabad, were pooled together to have uniform samples. Vegetables and fruits were treated with O 3 /US for 10 and 6 min, respectively, along with control (simple tap wash) for determining the impacts on pesticides degradation. Samples were processed for extraction, clean up and analysis using HPLC-UV–Vis in isocratic mode. The data revealed the presence of five mentioned chemicals, with an accumulative mean residue of 9.006 and 1.921 µg/g in tested vegetables and fruits, respectively. After subjecting to O 3 /US, the accumulative chemical residues were reduced to 3.214 µg/g (64.313 %) and 1.064 (44.6 %) in treated vegetables and fruits respectively. Irrespective of fresh produce, the mean residues of thiamethoxam, imidachloprid, acetamiprid and thiachloprid and carbendazim were reduced by 99.3 %, 52.6 %, 65.2 %, 87.3 % and 72% respectively. It was concluded that sonolytic ozonation treatment was effective in significant reduction of pesticide residues from vegetables and fruits and thus can be employed as a good food safety practice at culinary level to reduce the associated health hazardous risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]