European developments following incidents with dioxins and PCBs in the food and feed chain

Abstract Incidents with dioxins and PCBs have resulted in a strategy within the EU to reduce the exposure of the population to these compounds. Maximum levels were set for food and feed products and criteria were developed for the analytical methods (both confirmatory and screening) used for official control measurements. Ideally, any analysis performed with the aim of comparing the result with the legal limits should be performed according to these criteria. It should also apply to monitoring, performed to estimate human exposure and trend analysis rather than compliance with limits, since risk assessments and EU-policies rely heavily on these data. In recent years, analytical capacity has largely increased to complement the additional testing. In line with the responsibility of producers for the safety of their products, self-control has strongly increased and has played an important role in the discovery of several of the incidents. However, the increased monitoring seems not to have resulted in a clear further decrease in the levels reported for food and feed in the last decade. This may in part be due to a lack of follow up when elevated levels (above action levels) are found, which would lead to a reduction of output from remaining sources. It may also be related to the sensitivity of applied methods and the data collected in databases. This paper reviews the incidents and developments that have taken place within the EU over the last 15 years in the area of dioxins and PCBs, including the role of applying screening and confirmatory methods for achieving the desired further reduction in the levels.

[1]  P. Brooks,et al.  Lime as the source of PCDD/F contamination in citrus pulp pellets from Brazil and status of the monitoring program. , 2002, Chemosphere.

[2]  S. Safe.  Development validation and problems with the toxic equivalency factor approach for risk assessment of dioxins and related compounds. , 1998, Journal of animal science.

[3]  W. D. Pounden,et al.  Alimentary toxemia in chickens. , 1958, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[4]  Martin Rose,et al.  Dioxins (PCDD/Fs) and PCBs in offal: occurrence and dietary exposure. , 2010, Chemosphere.

[5]  P. Dalsenter,et al.  Reproductive toxicity and tissue concentrations of low doses of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in male offspring rats exposed throughout pregnancy and lactation. , 1998, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[6]  C. Schlatter,et al.  The transfer of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans from soil into eggs of foraging chicken. , 1997, Chemosphere.

[7]  A. Tritscher,et al.  Dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans) in traditional clay products used during pregnancy. , 2013, Chemosphere.

[8]  N. Mantel,et al.  Clinical laboratory manifestations of exposure to dioxin in children. A six-year study of the effects of an environmental disaster near Seveso, Italy. , 1986, JAMA.

[9]  H. Budka,et al.  Risk assessment of biological hazards for consumer protection , 2012 .

[10]  H. Steur,et al.  Assessment of the chemical contamination in home-produced eggs in Belgium: general overview of the CONTEGG study. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[11]  Safe,et al.  Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs for humans and wildlife. , 1998, Environmental health perspectives.

[12]  P. Liao,et al.  Elevated PCDD/F levels and distinctive PCDD/F congener profiles in free range eggs. , 2010, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[13]  R. Ceci,et al.  DIOXIN LEVELS IN LIVESTOCK AND GRASSLAND NEAR A LARGE INDUSTRIAL AREA IN TARANTO (ITALY) , 2009 .

[14]  J. J. Ryan,et al.  Chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, chlorinated dibenzofurans, and pentachlorophenol in Canadian chicken and pork samples , 1985 .

[15]  M. Zeilmaker,et al.  A novel source for dioxins present in recycled fat from gelatin production. , 2007, Chemosphere.

[16]  L. Hens,et al.  A survey of three PCB and dioxin contamination episodes: from contamination of food items to body burdens , 2004 .

[17]  R. Aldag,et al.  Dioxine in Lagerstätten-Tonen , 2000 .

[18]  A. Baccarelli,et al.  Neonatal Thyroid Function in Seveso 25 Years after Maternal Exposure to Dioxin , 2008, PLoS medicine.

[19]  W. Traag,et al.  The German bakery waste incident , 2003 .

[20]  Ian Marnane.  Comprehensive environmental review following the pork PCB/dioxin contamination incident in Ireland. , 2012, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[21]  J Baeyens,et al.  The Belgian PCB and dioxin incident of January-June 1999: exposure data and potential impact on health. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.

[22]  V. Rossi.  Pest risk assessment of Monilinia fructicola for the EU territory and identification and evaluation of risk management options , 2011 .

[23]  D. Hayward,et al.  Elevated TCDD in chicken eggs and farm-raised catfish fed a diet with ball clay from a Southern United States mine. , 1999, Environmental research.

[24]  Paolo Brambilla,et al.  Dioxin Exposure, from Infancy through Puberty, Produces Endocrine Disruption and Affects Human Semen Quality , 2007, Environmental health perspectives.

[25]  E. Abad,et al.  An episode of dioxin contamination in feedingstuff: the choline chloride case. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[26]  A. D. Campbell,et al.  Chemical and Toxicological Evaluations of Isolated and Synthetic Chloro Derivatives of Dibenzo-p-dioxin , 1968, Nature.

[27]  W. Traag,et al.  The German bakery waste incident; use of a combined approach of screening and confirmation for dioxins in feed and food. , 2004, Talanta.

[28]  G. Chung,et al.  Formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) from a refinery process for zinc oxide used in feed additives: a source of dioxin contamination in Chilean pork. , 2011, Chemosphere.

[29]  A. Conte,et al.  Milk Contamination from Dioxins in Italy: Source Identification and Intervention Strategies , 2008 .

[30]  G. Duffy,et al.  Technical specifications on harmonised epidemiological indicators for biological hazards to be covered by meat inspection of domestic sheep and goats , 2013 .

[31]  R. Hoogenboom.  The combined use of the CALUX Bioassay and the HRGC/HRMS method for the detection of novel dioxin sources and new dioxin-like compounds , 2002, Environmental science and pollution research international.

[32]  E Anklam,et al.  Determination of dioxins (PCDDs/PCDFs) and PCBs in food and feed using the DR CALUX® bioassay: Results of an international validation study , 2005, Food additives and contaminants.

[33]  Jose L Domingo,et al.  Human exposure to dioxins through the diet in Catalonia, Spain: carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[34]  M. Zeilmaker,et al.  Kaolinic clay derived PCDD/Fs in the feed chain from a sorting process for potatoes. , 2010, Chemosphere.

[35]  L. Goldman,et al.  Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxin and Polychlorinated Dibenzofuran Contamination in Soil and Home-Produced Chicken Eggs Near Pentachlorophenol Sources , 2000 .

[36]  Igor Fochi,et al.  Pentachlorophenol, polychlorodibenzodioxin and polychlorodibenzofuran in eggs from hens exposed to contaminated wood shavings , 2009, Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment.

[37]  V. Feil,et al.  Treated wood in livestock facilities: relationships among residues of pentachlorophenol, dioxins, and furans in wood and beef. , 2002, Environmental pollution.

[38]  P. Schmid,et al.  Temporal and local trends of PCDD/F levels in cow's milk in Switzerland. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[39]  D. Makowski,et al.  Scientific Opinion on the risk to plant health posed by Eutetranychus orientalis Klein in the EU territory, with the identification and evaluation of risk reduction options , 2013 .

[40]  D. Morris,et al.  A disorder of chickens probably due to a toxic feed; preliminary report. , 1958, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[41]  M. Rose,et al.  Considerations for the regulation of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, furans (PCDD/Fs) and biphenyls (PCBs) in liver , 2010 .

[42]  C. Tohyama,et al.  The 2005 World Health Organization reevaluation of human and Mammalian toxic equivalency factors for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. , 2006, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[43]  W. Traag,et al.  Residues of dioxins (PCDD/Fs) and PCBs in eggs, fat and livers of laying hens following consumption of contaminated feed. , 2006, Chemosphere.

[44]  W. Traag,et al.  Tracing and analytical results of the dioxin contamination incident in 2008 originating from the Republic of Ireland , 2010, Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment.

[45]  M. Bakker,et al.  Dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in The Netherlands anno 2004. , 2008, Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP.

[46]  S. Hsu,et al.  Discovery and epidemiology of PCB poisoning in Taiwan: a four-year followup. , 1985, Environmental health perspectives.

[47]  D. Firestone.  Etiology of chick edema disease. , 1973, Environmental health perspectives.

[48]  C. Rappe,et al.  Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans and Dibenzo-p -dioxins and other Chlorinated Contaminants in Cow Milk from Various Locations in Switzerland. , 1987, Environmental science & technology.

[49]  A. Bernard,et al.  Food contamination by PCBs and dioxins , 1999, Nature.

[50]  L. Alonso,et al.  Levels of PCDDs and PCDFs in farm cow's milk located near potential contaminant sources in Asturias (Spain). Comparison with levels found in control, rural farms and commercial pasteurized cow's milks. , 1997, Chemosphere.

[51]  A. Kijlstra,et al.  Effect of flock size on dioxin levels in eggs from chickens kept outside. , 2007, Poultry science.

[52]  W. Traag,et al.  Residues of dioxins and coplanar PCBS in eggs of free range chickens , 2002 .

[53]  R Hoogerbrugge,et al.  Dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs: occurrence and dietary intake in The Netherlands. , 2004, Toxicology letters.

[54]  Kees Olie,et al.  Chlorodibenzo-p-dioxins and chlorodibenzofurans are trace components of fly ash and flue gas of some municipal incinerators in The Netherlands , 1977 .

[55]  K. Davison,et al.  Chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran concentrations in beef animals from a feeding study. , 2000, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[56]  H. Fiedler,et al.  Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in food samples collected in southern Mississippi, USA. , 1997, Chemosphere.

[57]  Atsuko Yamaguchi,et al.  Epidemiologic study on Yusho, a Poisoning Caused by Ingestion of Rice Oil Contaminated with a Commercial Brand of Polychlorinated Biphenyls* , 1972, Environmental health perspectives.

[58]  C. La Rocca,et al.  PCB, PCDD and PCDF contamination of food of animal origin as the effect of soil pollution and the cause of human exposure in Brescia. , 2009, Chemosphere.

[59]  A. Liem,et al.  Occurrence of dioxins in cow's milk in the vicinity of municipal waste incinerators and a metal reclamation plant in the Netherlands , 1991 .

[60]  P. Clark,et al.  Dioxin and PCB contamination in Chinese mitten crabs: human consumption as a control mechanism for an invasive species. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[61]  Linda S. Birnbaum,et al.  Consultation on assessment of the health risk of dioxins; re-evaluation of the tolerable daily intake (TDI): executive summary. , 2000, Food additives and contaminants.

[62]  C. Saegerman,et al.  The Belgian PCB/dioxin incident: analysis of the food chain contamination and health risk evaluation. , 2002, Environmental research.

[63]  J. Saurat,et al.  2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) poisoning in Victor Yushchenko: identification and measurement of TCDD metabolites , 2009, The Lancet.

[64]  M. Zeilmaker,et al.  Carry-over of dioxins and PCBs from feed and soil to eggs at low contamination levels – influence of mycotoxin binders on the carry-over from feed to eggs , 2006, Food additives and contaminants.

[65]  C. Creaser,et al.  The Panteg monitoring project: comparing PCB and dioxin concentrations in the vicinity of industrial facilities , 1998 .

[66]  Gábor L. Lövei,et al.  Application of Systematic Review Methodology to Food and Feed Safety Assessments to Support Decision Making , 2010 .

[67]  R. Malisch,et al.  Increase of the PCDD/F-contamination of milk, butter and meat samples by use of contaminated citrus pulp. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[68]  C. Byrne,et al.  The concentration and distribution of 2,3,7,8-dibenzo-p-dioxins/-furans in chickens. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[69]  E. De Pauw,et al.  Levels and congener distributions of PCDDs, PCDFs and non-ortho PCBs in Belgian foodstuffs--assessment of dietary intake. , 2002, Chemosphere.

[70]  Ronald Hoogerbrugge,et al.  The use of the DR CALUX bioassay and indicator polychlorinated biphenyls for screening of elevated levels of dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in eel. , 2006, Molecular nutrition & food research.

[71]  Rainer Malisch,et al.  Dioxins and PCBs in feed and food--review from European perspective. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[72]  A. Flynn,et al.  The dioxin contamination incident in Ireland, 2008: analytical results and congener patterns , 2012, Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment.