OBJECTIVETo explore the present contamination status and profile of toxaphene in fish, chicken and meat samples in Pearl River Delta area.

METHODSTotally 60 independent samples including fish, chicken, meat were collected from Huizhou,Guangzhou,Dongguan,Jiangmen of Pearl River Delta area in Guangdong by purposive sampling from Oct 2010 to Jun 2011. Toxaphene monomer Parlar26, Parlar50 and Parlar62 levels in three various categories of foods were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed referencing international authoritative standard methods by utilizing isotope dilution high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution double-focusing magnetic mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS). The levels of pollution and characteristics were compared.

RESULTSThe concentration of toxaphene median(M) in fish, chicken and meat were 12.87, 5.8 and 1.89 ng/kg (gross weight) , respectively and the difference was significant(H = 14.29, P = 0.001). The toxaphene level in seafish (M = 32.07 ng/kg) was significantly higher than that in freshwater fish (M = 10.63 ng/kg, Z = -2.52, P = 0.012). The profile analysis showed that Parlar50 and Parlar26 were the predominant characteristic monomers in fish, which contributed about 44% (9.91/22.60, ng/kg) and 39% (8.89/22.60, ng/kg) to total concentration, and Parlar62 and Parlar26 were the two predominant congeners in poultry products, the two congeners accounted for 42% (5.03/11.90, ng/kg) and 38% (4.58/11.90, ng/kg). Furthermore Parlar26 and Parlar62 made up about 57% (3.45/6.08, ng/kg) and 26% (1.58/6.08, ng/kg) of total concentration in livestock meat respectively.

CONCLUSIONToxaphene levels in all tested food samples are far lower than the limited standard stipulated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2002, which was 0.1 mg/kg. The congener characteristic difference in the three categories food indicated that the different enrichment ability in Toxaphene in different animal species.

Animals ; Chromatography, Gas ; Fishes ; Food Contamination ; Insecticides ; Meat ; Poultry ; Toxaphene

For the previous century, the humans have created an unintended and unwanted problem of endocrine disruptors as a potential threat to our public health. By the name of industrialization, endocrine disruptors are smuggling in the everyday life of people today. Although there are much debate on the reality of their emerging health threat, it is no doubt that there are certain classes of compounds that have the potential to affect hormonal status adversely, leading to abnormal development, reproductive dysfunction, and some cancers. The classes of endocrine disruptors are extensively diverse and even more increasing, such as, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, dieldrin, bisphenol A and toxaphene. Although these endocrine disruptors have been prohibited or tightly regulated, many of them are still unrecognized and still used without knowing their potential threat to the biological world. Once they are released into the environment, they usually persist without degradation and even undergo bioaccumulation and bioconcentration in food chain. Comparing with the great concern over the public health, we do not have enough information for these issues. It is now clear that we need further extensive studies for the risk assessment and the protection of human and ecological health from the potential hazards of endocrine disruptors. This article introduces a breif overview of the current status of our knowledge and research on endocrine disruptors.
Dieldrin ; Dioxins ; Endocrine Disruptors* ; Food Chain ; Humans ; Polychlorinated Biphenyls ; Public Health ; Risk Assessment ; Toxaphene