Opinion of the Scientific Panel on contaminants in the food chain [CONTAM] related to DDT as an undesirable substance in animal feed

Abstract

European countries for most uses in the early 1970s. The use of DDT as a pesticide has been very restrictive since 1981 and banned since 1986 in the EU. Although being banned in most countries worldwide, DDT is still used for vector control especially in areas with endemic malaria, and extended use was recently recommended by WHO for indoor residual spraying to control malaria.Because of the lipophilic properties and persistence in the environment, DDΤ and related compounds are bioaccumulated and biomagnified along the food chain. DDT is included in the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) 1 and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution protocol on POPs (CLRTAP-POP).DDT is readily absorbed in humans and animals; the half-life for DDT varies from one month in rats to four years in humans. In animals and humans DDE is generally more persistent than DDT. DDT and related compounds are transferred to milk and egg and accumulate in domestic animals and fish. DDT has low acute toxicity to mammals and most bird species.The main target organs are the nervous system and the liver. It also affects hormonal tissues, reproduction, fetal development and the immune system. DDT including p,p'-DDE and DDD cause tumours mainly in the liver of experimental animals and are mostly negative in In its evaluation of DDT, the CONTAM Panel examined occurrence data to assess the levels that are currently found in the environment and in food and feed. Feed materials of animal origin, especially fish derived products, are in general more contaminated than feed materials of plant origin. In feed samples of animal origin the metabolite p,p'-DDE normally represents more than 50 % of sum of DDT. A considerable lower contribution of p,p'-DDE to the sum of DDT may indicate recent use of DDT. Samples of plant origin are generally dominated by the parent compound p,p'-DDT. Feed commodities including fish derived products generally contain levels in the low μg/kg range and thus are far below those that have been found to cause adverse effects in fish and domestic animals. However, it can not be excluded that elevated levels may be found in feed commodities that originate from areas where DDT has recently been or still is used.Despite its presence in the environment, many foodstuffs and animal feed, the data show a considerable decline of up to 90 % in human exposure to DDT and related compounds over the past three decades. Food of animal origin is the major source of human exposure and recent studies performed in some EU Member States indicate a mean dietary intake for adults and children of 5 -30 ng/kg b.w. per day. This exposure level is more than two orders of magnitude below the PTDI of 0.01 mg/kg b.w.

Diet as a Source of Exposure to Environmental Contaminants for Pregnant Women and Children from Six European Countries

“…Food can be contaminated via transfer of substances from contaminated marine and/or agricultural food chains, during food production or food processing, or as a result of leakage from food packaging (Domingo and Nadal 2017; Ng and von Goetz 2017). Dietary exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated dioxins/furans and biphenyls (PCDDs/PCDFs and PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), PBDEs and PFASs is driven mainly by consumption of foods of marine or terrestrial animal origin (Domingo and Nadal 2017; EFSA 2006a, 2006b, 2012b). Such contaminants are found in biological samples from pregnant women worldwide, and positive associations between blood concentrations of POPs and consumption of fish and seafood, meat, and dairy products have been consistently reported (Brantsæter et al.…”

Validation of a Modified QuEChERS Method for the Determination of Selected Organochlorine Compounds in Honey

“…They are able to disrupt the endocrine system by interfering with hormones, affecting the synthesis, metabolism and secretion of hormones. Long-term exposure to OCPs have been linked to the development of chronic neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, but also to thyroid disease, diabetes and obesity, contributing to a rise in infertility caused by sperm quality impairment or disturbed sex hormone production [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified DDT and its metabolites into Group 2A as probably carcinogenic to humans [ 26 ].…”