Consumer concerns on food safety and society awareness of chemical contaminants in the environment have increased in the past few years. As a consequence, more restrictions in the use of chemical products have been imposed at national and international levels. Pesticides are widely used for the control of weeds, diseases, and pests of cultivated plants all over the world, mainly since after Second World War, with the discovery of some organic compounds with good insecticide or herbicide activity. At present, around million tons of pesticides are used annually and the number of registered active substances is higher than 500
