Reduction of Ethylenethiourea Residues in Canned Spinach

Field-grown spinach (Spinacea oleraceae L.) sprayed with ethylenebisdi-thiocarbamate fungicides was washed to reduce the carbamate residue ethylenethiourea (ETU) in canned spinach. The spinach was washed with water, water + sodium hypochlorite, detergents, or detergents + sodium hypochlorite. After washing, the spinach was canned and evaluated for ETU residue and quality. ETU residue was 63 ppm in non-washed carbamate field-treated spinach, 6.9 ppm in water-washed samples, and only 0.1 ppm in washing treatments containing detergents. Washing treatments had little effect on the quality of the canned spinach; only titratable acidity was reduced significantly.