Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Food

Abstract

We measured the concentrations of 205 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in 26 food items: beef steak, butter, canned tuna, catfish, cheese, eggs, french fries, fried chicken, ground beef, ground pork, hamburger, hot dog, ice cream, liver, luncheon meat, margarine, meat-free dinner, milk, pizza, poultry, salmon, sausage, shrimp, sliced ham, tilapia, and vegetable oil. Using Diet History Questionnaire II, we calculated the PCB dietary exposure in mothers and children participating in the AESOP Study in East Chicago, Indiana, and Columbus Junction, Iowa. Salmon had the highest concentration followed by canned tuna, but fish is a minor contributor to exposure. Other animal proteins are more important sources of PCB dietary exposure in this study population. Despite the inclusion of few congeners and food types in previous studies, we found evidence of a decline in PCB concentrations over the last 20 years. We also found strong associations of PCB congener distributions with Aroclors in most foods and found manufacturing by-product PCBs, including PCB11, in tilapia and catfish. The reduction in PCB levels in food indicates that dietary exposure is comparable to PCB inhalation exposures reported for the same study population.

The measurement and health risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls in butter samples using the QuEChERS/GC‐MS method

“…Thus PCBs are released into the air, and this contamination can be deposited locally on plants and soil, contaminating agricultural products and animal feed and then being transmitted to livestock (Saktrakulkla et al . 2020). Animal products, especially dairy products, are one of the most important sources of PCBs due to their high consumption by humans.…”

“…2020; Saktrakulkla et al . 2020). The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) and WHO (World Health Organization) have categorised PCBs as 2A class, probable carcinogenic congeners (Rusin et al .…”

Inhalation Exposure to PCB from Contaminated Indoor Air—How Much Is Absorbed into the Blood?

“…In the absence of specific exposure, the general population is usually exposed to PCBs via food [2,3]. Because of management measures such as the implementation of maximum levels in food products exposure to PCBs in food has decreased significantly over the last decades [3,7]. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported a 64% reduction of PCBs in European raw milk and dairy products within 15 years [2].…”

Validation and Evaluation of Selected Organic Pollutants in Shrimp and Seawater Samples from the NW Portuguese Coast

“…Since 1929, these chemicals have been widely used in various industrial materials such as hydraulic fluids, insulating oil in condensers and transformers and paints. Additionally, some paint manufacturing processes can produce PCB congeners as by-products [ 19 , 20 ]. Europe prohibited the manufacturing of PCBs in the late 1970s [ 19 , 21 ], the Stockholm Convention classified PCBs as persistent organic pollutants in 2001 [ 22 ] and the International Agency for the Research on Cancer (IARC) classified PCBs in Group I (carcinogenic to humans) [ 23 ].…”

“…The major exposure routes for these chemicals are diet, occupational exposure, inhalation or absorption through the skin. These pollutants are linked to adverse health effects, including cancers, neurological, respiratory, immunological and reproductive disorders, thyroid dysfunction and diabetes [ 12 , 20 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”