Occurrence, Distribution, and Risk Assessment of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in Muscle and Liver of Cattle in Xinjiang, China

Abstract

Despite risks associated with perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in many regions, little is known about their prevalence in Xinjiang. We determined the presence of 13 PFAAs in 293 beef muscle and liver samples collected in 22 cities covering northern, southern, and eastern Xinjiang using liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Overall, the average values for PFAAs were relatively low compared with previous studies. Liver presented higher mean levels of total PFAAs at 1.632 ng/g, which was over 60-fold higher than in muscle (0.026 ng/g). Among the PFAAs analyzed, medium-chain compounds were dominant, accounting for more than 70% of the total. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was highly prevalent in the liver with the highest mean concentration (0.617 ng/g) and detection frequency (80%). When comparing the three regions of Xinjiang, we found differences in PFAA profiles, with the northern region showing the highest levels. Furthermore, the average daily intake and hazard ratios of PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid varied by region, urban/rural environment, gender, ethnicity, and age. The highest risk value of 13 PFAAs was estimated to be 0.837 × 10 −3 , which is far below 1, indicating that there is no health risk posed by eating beef muscle and liver in Xinjiang.

Research Progress of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Edible Oil—A Review

“…Of the 200 North East Arctic cod liver samples tested for 16 PFASs, PFOS was present in the majority of the samples (72%) at concentrations above the limit of quantitation (LOQ) (1.5 μg kg −1 wet weight), with the highest level detected being 21.8 μg kg −1 wet weight [ 76 ]. This is in good accordance with the fact that PFOS and PFCAs are prone to accumulate in the liver [ 77 , 78 ]. However, the PFSAs in cod liver oil are not under supervision, and little is known about them.…”

Chronic exposure to perfluorononanoic acid impairs spermatogenesis, steroidogenesis and fertility in male mice

“…over several decades in commercial applications such as in lubricants, paper and textile coatings, polishes, food packaging and fire-retarding foams (Calafat, Wong, Kuklenyik, Reidy, & Needham, 2007;Wang et al, 2017). Because of widespread use of PFAAs, these compounds have been detected in the environment, wildlife and humans (Buck et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2017). The presence of the strong carbon-fluorine bond in PFAAs makes them resistant to hydrolysis, photolysis, microbial degradation and to metabolism by animals .…”

Detection of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in High‐Protein Food Products

“…Unfortunately, it was difficult to compare our results with those of others because PFBA levels in liver samples were not always reported in the studies we reviewed. Wang et al (2017) found that PFBA mean concentration in beef liver was 0.032 ng g –1 . Our study found that PFBA levels in edible livers were 3 orders of magnitude higher.…”