Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in food samples collected in southern Mississippi, USA.
In 1994, we analyzed 43 foodstuff samples from local supermarkets in southern Mississippi, USA, for PCDD/PCDF. 2,3,7,8-Cl4DD could be quantified in 31 of these samples. On a lipid basis, levels in meat (0.53-1.10 pg I-TEQ/g) and dairy products (0.42-1.10 pg I-TEQ/g) were slightly lower than those reported from other industrialized countries. While levels in dairy samples from the United States and Europe are comparable, there is a difference in the contribution of individual congeners to the I-TEQ: for example, in milk samples from Germany approximately 40% of the I-TEQ is due to the presence of 2,3, 4,7,8-Cl5DF while in the Mississippi samples this congener only contributes 16%. The highest concentrations of PCDD/PCDF in our study were detected in the farm-raised catfish (10.2-27.8 pg I-TEQ/g). A unique finding was that in addition to the 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/PCDF the catfish samples contained many non-2,3,7,8-substituted congeners. This is unusual because vertebrate animals selectively eliminate or metabolize the non-2,3,7,8-substituted congeners.
Fiedler
H
H
University of Bayreuth, Chair of Ecological Chemistry and Geochemistry, Germany.
Cooper
K R
KR
Bergek
S
S
Hjelt
M
M
Rappe
C
C
D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D008922:Mississippi; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D012423:Rural Health; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D001572:Benzofurans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D012989:Soil Pollutants