The footprint of dioxins in globally traded pork meat

Abstract

Summary The bioaccumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), known as dioxins, in fatty meat is one of primary pathways of entry into the human body, but levels of human exposure to dioxins in fatty meat subject to global trade are unknown. We show high dioxin estimated dietary intake (EDI) via pork consumption in Europe, the United States, and China, owing to stronger dioxin environmental contamination and high pork consumption in these countries. The dioxin risk transfer embodied in pork trade is mostly significant in high-latitude countries and regions of Canada, Russia, and Greenland because these regions with low dioxin environmental levels import large amounts of pork meat from more severely dioxin-contaminated Europe and the United States. We demonstrate that global pig feed trading decreases the exposure of pork consumers to dioxins via the import of feed from countries with low dioxin environmental contamination by pig breeding countries.

Atmospheric emissions of hexachlorobutadiene in fine particulate matter from industrial sources

“…Global South ( r = 0.98) exhibited a higher correlation with HCBD than Global North ( r = 0.88). The higher correlation between HCBD emissions and GDP in the Global South may be explained by the following: (1) secondary industries (including manufacturing, mining, and construction) have larger contributions to GDP in the Global South than in the Global North 51 ; and (2) many countries in the Global North have completed more comprehensive infrastructure construction in the past, while countries in the Global South are in a stage of rapid development accompanied by rapid GDP growth 52 , 53 . Higher emissions of HCBD in the Global South than in the Global North indicate that individuals in the Global South may have higher exposure to HCBD than in the Global North.…”

Tracking and optimizing toxic chemical exposure pathways through food trade: A case study in SCCPs contaminated seafood in China

“…The considerable scale and complexity of the food trade and supply system require a high cost for food safety inspection following the traditional method, owing to their reliance on extensive instrumentation and costly laboratory infrastructure ( 12 ). In contrast, numerical simulation offers a rapid, efficient, and alternative approach to assess food safety quantitatively ( 8 , 13 , 18 ). Huang et al ( 13 ) have simulated the impact of the global fish trade on human POPs exposure by integrating a food trade pathway model and atmospheric transport model and reported that the global fish trade increased human exposure and associated risk to PCBs in areas with low ambient emissions of PCBs.…”

“…Huang et al ( 13 ) have simulated the impact of the global fish trade on human POPs exposure by integrating a food trade pathway model and atmospheric transport model and reported that the global fish trade increased human exposure and associated risk to PCBs in areas with low ambient emissions of PCBs. Chen et al ( 18 ) investigated the health risks from dioxin in the global pork trade and demonstrated that countries importing large amounts of pork meat from severely dioxin-contaminated Europe and the United States have an enhanced risk of dioxin exposure.…”