Volume 144, February 2016, Pages 2106–2112
Highlights
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- Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) detected in home produced eggs.
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- Long-chain PFASs, especially PFOS, detected more frequently than short-chain PFASs.
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- No PFASs in most commercial eggs from the Netherlands and Greece.
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- Consumption of home-produced eggs unlikely to lead to exceedance TDIs.
Abstract
Dietary
intake is a major route of human exposure to perfluoroalkylated
substances (PFASs). However, the available information on PFAS levels in
food, including chicken eggs, is limited. In the present study, home
produced and commercially produced eggs (organic, battery and free range
eggs) were collected from the Netherlands (n = 95) and Greece (n = 76).
The egg yolks were analysed for 11 PFASs by liquid
chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using isotope dilution. PFAS
levels in yolk were higher in home produced eggs from the Netherlands
(median 3.1, range < LOQ – 31.2 ng g−1) and Greece (median 1.1, range < LOQ – 15.0 ng g−1) compared to the eggs collected from supermarkets. In these eggs, all PFAS levels were below the LOQ of 0.5 ng g−1, except for a small amount of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in 1 sample in each country (1.1 ng g−1 and 0.9 ng g−1 for the Netherlands and Greece respectively).
PFOS
was the predominant PFAS, making up on average 85% of ∑PFASs. The
highest PFOS concentration was detected in a Dutch home produced egg
sample (24.8 ng g−1). The contamination pattern was similar
in both countries with the long-chain PFASs (C ≥ 8) being most
frequently detected, while short-chain PFASs were rarely found. The most
likely cause of the contamination of home produced eggs is ingestion of
soil through pecking. Although regular consumption of home produced
eggs will lead to an increased PFOS exposure, it is not expected that it
will lead to exceedance of the tolerable daily intake established by
EFSA.
Keywords
- Home produced eggs;
- Commercially produced eggs;
- Free-range eggs;
- PFASs;
- LC-MS/MS;
- Netherlands;
- Greece
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