Persistent Organic Pollutants Reportedly Detected in Food

Researchers studying 31 different types of food purchased from supermarkets in Dallas, Texas, have apparently found a range of persistent organic pollutants, including organochlorine pesticides, at varying levels, although none exceeded Environmental Protection Agency reference doses or EU maximum residue levels for pesticide residues in food. Arnold Schecter, et al., “Perfluorinated Compounds, Polychlorinated Biphenyl, and Orgnaochlorine Pesticide Contamination in Composite Food Samples from Dallas, Texas,” Environmental Health Perspectives, February 10, 2010.

Noting that a number of the pollutants tested have been banned for some time in the United States, the researchers nonetheless found them in meat products, fish, dairy, vegetable-based foods, and eggs. While uncertain whether some of the chemicals may have migrated from food packaging, the researchers conclude that “US food is contaminated with a wide range of chemicals, including pesticides, PFCs, and PCBs and that expanding the current monitoring beyond pesticides to include emerging pollutants is warranted.” The researchers also call for additional research “to determine the toxicological effects of these and other mixtures which exist in food.”