title: Assessment of the temporal trend of the dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs and PCBs in Catalonia, over Spain: health risks.
abstract: The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), as well as those of 18 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), including 12-dioxin like (DL)-PCBs, were measured in foodstuffs randomly acquired in Catalonia (Spain) in November-December 2008. A total of 65 composite samples, belonging to various food groups were analyzed by HRGC/HRMS. The dietary intakes of PCDD/Fs and PCBs were subsequently estimated for four age groups of the population of Catalonia: children, teenagers, adults, and seniors, which were in turn divided according to sex. The highest dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs corresponded to fish and seafood (28.0%), dairy products (15.4%), and oils and fats (10.6%), while that of PCBs corresponded to fish and seafood (58.6%), and dairy products (8.9%). In contrast, the lowest contributions of PCDD/Fs and PCBs corresponded to vegetables, fruits and pulses. Concerning the sum of PCDD/Fs plus DL-PCBs, the current total intake expressed in pg WHO-TEQ/kg per day (0.60) showed a notable decreasing trend with respect to those found in previous surveys performed also in Catalonia in 2000 (3.51) and 2006 (1.12pg/kg per day). The current dietary intake of PCDDs plus DL-PCBs is similar or lower than that recently reported in studies performed in a number of regions and countries.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, "Rovira i Virgili" University, San Lorenzo 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perelló
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Catalán
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Castell
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Llobet
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Domingo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; C023614:dibenzofuran; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls