PCB concentrations in shrimp from major import markets and the United States

Abstract

Currently, environmental studies describing levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in imported shrimp are limited, particularly studies of aquaculture shrimp. In the present study, we measured concentrations of the 209 PCB congeners in 84 uncooked, warm-water shrimp samples from the United States and 14 other countries in three continents. Total PCB and dioxin-like PCB (DL-PCB) levels were not significantly different between wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp, and the distribution of total PCB levels did not vary considerably by country of origin although significant differences were observed in some cases. Regional trends in both total PCB and DL-PCB concentrations were observed, with the highest concentrations measured in shrimp from North America followed by Asia and then South America. The lower chlorinated homologues (i.e., mono-, di-, and tri-PCBs) generally comprised a greater fraction of the total levels measured in farm-raised shrimp and shrimp from Asia and South America whereas higher chlorinated homologues (i.e., hepta-, octa-, nona-, and deca-PCBs) contributed more to levels in wild-caught shrimp and shrimp from North America. Estimated daily intake of PCBs associated with shrimp consumption ranged from 2 pg/kg/d (shrimp from South America) to 15 pg/kg/d (shrimp from North America). Results from the present study were comparable to other studies conducted recently and demonstrate that exposure to PCBs from consumption of farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp imported from different regions are not likely to pose any health risks.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Food

“…Two-thirds of the 192 reports studied foods in Europe and another quarter in Asia (Figure S5). Only 8 research articles reported PCB levels of foods in the U.S. ,,,− and another 8 multi-regional studies of fish provided relevant results. ,,− Although another 3 reports by USDA and 3 reports by BCS are included, − , totaling 22 reports, the number of studies of PCB levels in foods relevant to the U.S. is surprisingly small.…”

“…We conducted a full-text review of the 22 reports (Table ). Of 22 reports, there are 3 studies that quantified a full set of PCB congeners: in salmon by Hites et al (2004), in shrimp by Fillos et al (2012), and in yellowfin tuna by Nicklisch et al (2017). − Half of the 22 studies reported only 5–20 PCB congeners. BCS reported a 11-consecutive-year study of total PCB concentration of 40 congeners in 50 food items .…”

“…However, only 3–4 congeners were reported. − Chen et al (2017) reported 19 congeners in 8 brands of milk from California . Of 22 studies, 8 studies report PCB concentrations as PCB mass per gram of lipid and six of which did not provide the % lipid content for conversion back to PCB mass per gram of wet weight. ,− ,,,, One article reported PCB levels only as their toxicological equivalent (TEQ) which requires approximation to convert back total PCB levels. , …”

“…Food has long been considered the major source of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure. , However, it is uncertain whether it is still true, particularly in the U.S. where commercial uses of PCBs have ceased for almost 50 years. ,, There are few studies reporting PCB levels in foods sold in the U.S, with the exception of seafood. While some of these studies reported a small number of PCB congeners in a wide range of foods, other studies reported all 209 PCB levels in a small variety of foods. ,− Some studies analyzed hundreds of samples across the country but quantified only 3–4 PCB congeners. − …”

Uptake and depuration of PCB-153 in edible shrimp Palaemonetes varians and human health risk assessment

“…Since the main pathway of human exposure to PCBs is through dietary intake, namely by ingestion of edible marine species (Nunes et al, 2011;Fillos et al, 2012), the public and the food regulatory agencies are particularly concerned about the potential health effects associated with their consumption (Bodin et al, 2007). Crustaceans are a diverse group of marine organisms with enormous importance in the food webs, tending to accumulate large amounts of lipophilic contaminants in their tissues (Voorspoels et al, 2004;Bodin et al, 2007).…”