Levels and congener distributions of PCDDs, PCDFs and non-ortho PCBs in Belgian foodstuffs

Focant, Jean‐François; Eppe, Gauthier; Pirard, Catherine; Massart, A.-C; Andre, J.-E.; Pauw, Edwin De

doi:10.1016/s0045-6535(02)00104-2

Cited by 144 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In all samples (except shrimps), a prevalence of DL-PCBs (on a TEQ basis) is found, ranging from 53% for herring to 83% for tuna. This corresponds nicely to data reported by Focant et al [6] but the prevalence is somewhat less than in Dutch fish from 1991 [9], which most likely is caused by the decrease of the (DL-) PCB concentrations since 1991. Eel show a high PCB contribution to the total TEQ, which is caused by the relatively high PCB contamination of the Dutch freshwater systems.…”

Section: Contribution Of Dl-pcbs To the Total Teqsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Compared with other food items, fish can bioaccumulate considerable amounts of these contaminants [3]. The presence of PCDD/Fs and DLPCBs in regularly consumed fish or in fish originating from point sources has been demonstrated [4][5][6][7][8]. The Dutch rivers Meuse, Rhine, Waal and IJssel are highly polluted with PCBs and dioxins owing to a high degree of urbanization and industrialization along these rivers in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls in fish from the Netherlands: concentrations, profiles and comparison with DR CALUX® bioassay results

Leeuwen

Leonards

Traag³

et al. 2007

Anal Bioanal Chem

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Fish from Dutch markets were analysed for concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DLPCBs) and compared with the new European maximum residue levels (MRLs), set in 2006. In a first study on 11 different fish and shellfish from various locations, concentrations of PCDD/Fs were nearly all below the MRL for PCDD/Fs [4 pg toxic equivalents (TEQ) per gram wet weight (ww)] and nearly all below 8 pg total TEQ/g ww, the new MRL for the sum of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs. Some samples exceeded the total TEQ MRL, such as anchovy, tuna and sea bass. Furthermore, 20 (out of 39) wild eel samples exceeded the specific MRL for eel (12 pg total TEQ/g ww), as the study revealed PCDD/F TEQ levels of 0.2-7.9 pg TEQ/g ww and total TEQ values of 0.9 to 52 pg/g ww. TEQ levels in farmed and imported eel were lower and complied with the MRLs. Smoking eel, a popular tradition in the Netherlands, only had marginal effects on PCDD/F and DL-PCB concentrations. Owing to volatilization, concentrations of lowerchlorinated PCBs were reduced to below the limit of quantification after smoking. DL-PCBs contributed 61-97% to the total TEQ in all eel samples. This also holds for other fish and shellfish (except shrimps): DL-PCB contributed (on average) from 53 (herring) to 83% (tuna) to the total TEQ. Principal-component analysis revealed distinctive congener profiles for PCDD/Fs and non-ortho PCBs for mussels, pikeperch, herring and various Mediterranean fish. The application of new TCDD toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) set by the World Health Organization in 2006 (to replace the 1997 TEFs) resulted in lower TEQ values, mainly owing to a decreased mono-ortho PCB contribution. This decrease is most pronounced for eel, owing to the relative high monoortho PCB concentrations in eel. Consequently, a larger number of samples would comply with the MRLs when the new TEFs are applied. The DR CALUX® assay may be used for screening total TEQ levels in eel, in combination with gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry confirmation of suspected samples. An almost 1:1 correlation was found when the 1997 TEFs were applied, but, surprisingly, a 1.4-fold overestimation occurred with application of the 2006 TEFs.

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Section: Contribution Of Dl-pcbs To the Total Teqsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls in fish from the Netherlands: concentrations, profiles and comparison with DR CALUX® bioassay results

Leeuwen

Leonards

Traag³

et al. 2007

Anal Bioanal Chem

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“…For Belgium, typical human diet composition is taken from Focant et al (2002) while typical food dioxin contamination levels are taken from Windal et al (2010).…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Influence Of Fertilization Practices On DImentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential impact of fertilization practices on human dietary intake of dioxins in Belgium

Dumortier

Elskens

Focant

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

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Dioxins can enter the food chain at any stage, including crop fertilization. Therefore, we developed a simple method for estimating the introduction of dioxins in the food chain according to various fertilization practices. Using dioxin's contamination data taken from the literature, we estimated that fertilization accounts for approximately 20% of the dioxin inputs on agricultural soils at country scale. For the estimations at the field scale, 6 fertilization scenarios were considered: sludge, compost, digestate, manure, mineral fertilizers, and a common fertilization scenario that corresponds to an average situation in Belgium and combines mineral and organic fertilizers. According to our first estimations, mineral fertilizers, common fertilization practices or manure bring less than 1 ng TEQ/m² while atmospheric deposition or digestate bring between 1 and 3 ng TEQ/m² and sludge or compost bring more than 3 ng TEQ/m². The use of solid fertilizers could potentially increase the dioxin levels in the 30 cm agricultural soil layer by 0 to~1.5% per year (up to~9% for the 5 cm thick surface layer). For animals, the increase in dioxin ingestion linked to the fertilization practices is lower than 1% for most scenarios with the exception of the compost scenario. Increases in human dietary intake of dioxin are estimated to be lower than 1% for conventional rearing methods (i.e. grazing animals are reared outdoor while pigs and poultry are reared indoor). Spraying liquid fertilizers on meadows and fodder crops, even if very limited in practice, deserves much more attention because this application method could theoretically lead to higher dioxin's intake by livestock (from 6 to~300%). Considering an average half-life of dioxins in soils of 13 years, it appears that the risks of accumulation in soils and in the food chain are negligible for the various fertilization scenarios.

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“…Consumption of food is considered as the major source of non-occupational human exposure to PCDD/Fs (Travis and Hattermer-Frey, 1991;Fries, 1995). A first estimation of the PCDD/Fs and non-ortho PCBs dietary intake in Belgium was done by Focant et al (2002). An estimation of the exposure of the Belgian population was done at the same time by Vrijens et al (2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary intake of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs of the Belgian population

et al. 2010

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a b s t r a c tThe World Health Organization recommends assessing human exposure to contaminants on a regular basis. In order to assess the current dietary exposure of the Belgian adult population to PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs and to update exposure estimates of 2000-2001, a total diet study was designed. The mean dietary intake of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in the Belgian adult population in 2008 was estimated to be 0.72 pg TEQ kgbw À1 d À1 (middle bound concentrations, TEF of 1998) based on occurrence data of 2008 and national food consumption data of 2004. This value is clearly below the Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI) of 14 pg TEQ kgbw À1 week À1 set by the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission and below the provisional tolerable monthly intake of 70 pg TEQ kgbw À1 month À1 set by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Considering the cumulative distribution, the intake was less than 1 pg TEQ kgbw À1 d À1 for more than 80% of the population, and less than 2 pg TEQ kgbw À1 d À1 for the entire population. When using the 2005 TEF instead of the 1998 TEF, the mean dietary intake in the Belgian adult population was estimated to be 0.61 pg TEQ kgbw À1 d À1 .

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Levels and congener distributions of PCDDs, PCDFs and non-ortho PCBs in Belgian foodstuffs

Cited by 144 publications

References 54 publications

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls in fish from the Netherlands: concentrations, profiles and comparison with DR CALUX® bioassay results

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls in fish from the Netherlands: concentrations, profiles and comparison with DR CALUX® bioassay results

Potential impact of fertilization practices on human dietary intake of dioxins in Belgium

Dietary intake of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs of the Belgian population

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