title: [Secondary poisoning (toxic substances in food chains): advice from the Public Health Council].
abstract: The Dutch Health Council has issued a report on toxic contamination in food chains. The report discusses a model developed by the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection and by the Tidal Waters Division of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. In this model, the accumulation of substances in aquatic and terrestrial food chains is described. The model uses the no-effect concentration for a fish-eating animal and the bioconcentration factor. Whether a toxic compound will accumulate in a food chain depends on the lipophilic character of the compound, its biodegradability, feeding habits of the particular animal involved, and the intrinsic toxicological susceptibility of the animal. The Health Council report emphasizes that the model has only limited value because the figures do not guarantee that higher animal species are sufficiently protected from toxic damage. Kinetic models such as physiology-based pharmacokinetic (PB-PK) models have not been used. These may increase the validity of extrapolation of animal experimental data to the human situation.
authors.affiliation: Landbouwuniversiteit, Vakgroep Toxicologie, Wageningen.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Koeman
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D014118:Toxins, Biological