Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish oil dietary supplements: Occurrence and human exposure in the UK (original) (raw)

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Fish Oil Supplements on the Canadian Market: Polychlorinated Dibenzo- p -Dioxins, Dibenzofurans, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

Journal of Food Science, 2009

Canadians are interested in improving their diet through the consumption of fish oil food supplements, which are marketed to be rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Convenience samples of omega-3 enriched dietary supplements (n = 30) were collected in Vancouver, Canada, between 2005 and 2007. All of the omega-3 supplements were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and, although every sample was found to contain detectable residues of PBDEs, only 24 samples were found to have PCDD/F concentrations above the level of detection. PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 0.05 pg TEQ/g lipid to 45.7 pg TEQ/g lipid in salmon and shark oils, respectively. Maximum PBDE concentrations similarly were observed in shark oil (113 μg/kg lipid), however, most supplements had concentrations below 5 μg/kg lipid. Average PCDD/F and PBDE intake estimates, based on consumption of maximum supplement dose following product label recommendations, were 4.32 pg TEQ/d and 25.1 ng/d lipid, respectively.

Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A Evaluating daily exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in fish oil supplements

Fish oil supplements have become a popular means of increasing one's dietary intake of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, there is growing concern that the levels and potential health effects of lipophilic organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) may diminish some of the health benefits associated with the daily consumption of fish oil supplements. In this study, ten over-the-counter fish oil supplements available in the United States were analysed for PCBs and PBDEs and daily exposures calculated. Based on manufacturers' recommended dosages, daily intakes of PCBs and PBDEs ranged from 5 to 686 ng day À1 and from 1 to 13 ng day À1 , respectively. Daily consumption of fish oil supplements expose consumers to PCBs and PBDEs. However, in comparison with fish ingestion, fish supplements may decrease daily PCB exposure and provide a safer pathway for individuals seeking to maintain daily recommended levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Contribution of PCB exposure from fish consumption to total dioxin-like dietary exposure

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2004

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are the second greatest cause of fish advisories, and are often the greatest contributors to dioxin-like toxic equivalency (TEQ) in fish and seafood. Because fish consumption is associated with both contaminant risks and health benefits, incremental health risks from PCBs in fish should be considered within the context of overall TEQ associated dietary risk to enable consumers to make informed decisions about choosing to eat fish or alternate foodstuffs. In this paper, potential TEQ exposure from PCBs in fish for adults with a variety of consumption patterns and consuming fish from a variety of sources are calculated using recent consumption and fish contaminant data from the literature and compared to total TEQ exposure from all sources. For high-level consumers and individuals eating fish from relatively contaminated sites, PCB TEQ exposure from fish consumption alone may exceed the 1 pg TEQ/kg/day average adult daily intake estimated by EPA, which itself carries an upper bound cancer risk of 1 in 1000. PCB TEQ risk for average consumers of commercial fish is expected to be far less, but is highly uncertain, since there is a dearth of congener specific PCB data for commercial fish and seafood.

Dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs: occurrence and dietary intake in The Netherlands

Toxicology Letters, 2004

Data on occurrence of dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins [PCDDs] and dibenzofurans [PCDFs]), dioxin-like PCBs (polychlorinated non-ortho and mono-ortho biphenyls) and non-dioxin-like PCBs (as represented by the so-called indicator-PCBs: congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180) in food products consumed in The Netherlands that were collected in measurement programs carried out during 1998 and 1999, and combined with food consumption data to assess the dietary intake of these persistent food contaminants.

Dietary exposure of the Belgian adult population to non-dioxin-like PCBs

Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2013

Non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (ndl-PCBs), and some of their metabolites, might initiate neurological, neuroendocrinological, immunological and carcinogenic effects. Dietary exposure of the Belgian adult population to ndl-PCBs was investigated in this study. Foods from five food groups, collected in Belgium in 2008, were analyzed by GC-MS/MS for the six indicator PCBs (PCB 28, 52, 101, 138, 153 and 180). Results were expressed as the sum of the six congeners. A dietary exposure assessment was performed, combining ndl-PCBs levels found in food with data from the national food consumption survey of 2004. Fish and fish products were the dominating food group in terms of contamination level, with the highest levels measured in the composite sample «other fishes» (18.58 ng/g FW). The dietary exposure of the Belgian population (n = 3083) to ndl-PCBs ranged from 5.33 ng/kg b.w./day on average to 16.10 ng/kg b.w./ day at the 99th percentile, using the lower bound concentration. The mean dietary exposure mainly originates from Fish and fish products (54.3%), followed by dairy products (28.5%). As neither EFSA nor JECFA have set a Tolerable Daily Intake for ndl PCBs, uncertainty remains about how to interpret the exposure data in terms of public health.

Polychlorinated dioxins, furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin‐like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl‐PCBs) in food from Italy: Estimates of dietaryintake and assessment

Journal of Food Science, 2021

Dietary intake of polychlorinated dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) from various foods (fish and seafood, meat and meat-based products, milk and dairy products, hen eggs, olive oil and fats) was investigated for various sex/age groups of the Italian population. The concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs and their contribution to total TEQ values varied depending on food matrix. Fish (0.50 pg WHO-TEQ/g wet weight) and seafood (0.16 pg WHO-TEQ/g wet weight) showed the highest mean concentrations of PCDD/Fs plus dl-PCBs, followed by meat (1.70 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight), meat based products (1.03 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight), milk and dairy products (0.78 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight), hen eggs (0.71 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight), fats (0.27 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight) and olive oil (0.09 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight). In all samples WHO-TEQ PCDD/F plus dl-PCB concentrations fulfilled the European Union food law, except in pork loin samples (1.39 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid weight). Differences in exposure depending on the sex/age groups (children > teenagers > adults > elders) and hypotheses considered (lower bound and upper bound) were encountered. Non-cancer risk values showed a low exposure. Carcinogenicity risk results revealed that highly exposed individuals were distributed over all sex/age groups, even though the proportion of individuals exceeding the safe limit was higher in children. These data once again underline the importance of trying to control the levels of these contaminants in fishery products, particularly in fish, who represents one of the main exposure sources for consumers. Practical Application: This paper may help the consumer in making food choices to minimize the exposure risk to dioxins, furans and PCBs K E Y W O R D S diet, dl-PCBs, food safety, PCDD/Fs, public health This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Concentrations of PCDD/PCDFs and PCBs in fish and seafood from the Catalan (Spain) market: Estimated human intake

Environment International, 2007

The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and biphenyls (PCBs) in samples from 14 fish and seafood species widely consumed by the population of Catalonia, Spain, were measured. These samples were randomly purchased independently of their geographical origin. The intake of PCDD/Fs and PCBs through consumption of these species was also estimated for various age and sex groups of this population. The highest and lowest levels of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) were found in red mullet and shrimp, respectively. For a standard adult man (70 kg body weight), the intake of PCDD/Fs plus DL-PCBs through consumption of fish and other seafood was estimated to be 38.0 pg WHO-TEQ/day. Tuna, hake, and sardine were the species with the highest contribution to this intake. The results of this study indicate that, in general terms, the dietary habits of the population of Catalonia (Spain) regarding fish and seafood consumption do not contribute remarkably to increase PCDD/F and DL-PCB intake.

Composition of Dioxin-like PCBs in Fish: An Application for Risk Assessment

Environmental Science & Technology, 2007

It is widely accepted that a congener-specific analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), rather than traditional Aroclor equivalent total PCB analysis, is required for risk assessment. This is based on the fact that environmental processes alter the original distribution of PCB congeners in Aroclors and that toxicity varies considerably among the congeners with dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) generally being among the most toxic. Using the largest known dl-PCB fish dataset, here we present a likely composition of dl-PCBs in fish. In contrast to common perception, we found that the dl-PCB composition is relatively constant (within approximately a factor of 2) regardless of fish species and total PCB level. The abundance of dl-PCBs expressed as a percentage of total PCB (25-75 quartile range) in fish is generally in the order of PCB-118 (3.0-6.2%) > PCB-105 (1.1-2.4%) > PCB-156 (0.39-0.75%) > PCB-167 (0.20-0.43%)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs): Occurrence in fishery products and dietary intake

Food Chemistry, 2011

Concentrations and congener specific profiles of PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs were determined in various edible fish from the Adriatic Sea. PCBs were the dominant chemicals (116-1980 ng g À1 lipid wt), followed by PCDFs (ND-58.3 pg g À1 lipid wt) and PCDDs (ND-20 pg g À1 lipid wt). The levels of these contaminants varied among species. Benthic organisms possessed the highest concentrations, followed by demersal and pelagic fish species. PCB and PCDD/F accumulation pattern in the samples analysed showed a distribution typically reported for marine samples. The mean weekly intake of toxic equivalency (TEQ) was estimated to be 0.84 pg TEQs/kg bw/week. The dioxin-like PCBs accounted for more than 77% of this intake, followed by PCDDs (15.5%) and PCDFs (13.1%). In general, the samples analysed in this survey can be considered safe with regard to the levels obtained and the in-force legislation, nevertheless the consumption of some species may be of significance importance for consumer health.