[ZD28] Persistent organic pollutants in food - dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (dlPCBs) in fish and other seafood
[ZD28] Persistent organic pollutants in food - dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (dlPCBs) in fish and other seafood
Key message
The average concentrations of dioxins and dl-PCBs in fish and seafood are the highest among all foods, followed by other animal-derived foods. Long-term average exposure of the Slovenian population to dioxins due to fish consumption does not exceed the Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI), except for infants and toddlers, indicating a higher health risk for the most vulnerable groups. When considering only fish consumers, exposure to dioxins and PCBs exceeds the TWI in all age groups. Despite the fact that the Slovenian population is less exposed compared to the European average, it is essential that food producers and relevant authorities actively work on reducing these pollutants in the food chain.
Charts
Figure ZD28-1: Average concentrations of the sum of dioxins and the sum of dioxins and dlPCBs (WHO2005 PCDD/F TEQ (pg/g)) in fish and other seafood (SI Official Control 2012-2019, with included data from EFSA and scientific literature (L)).
Sources:
Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection, (2023)
| Average concentrations of the sum of dioxins and dlPCBs | Average concentrations of the sum of dioxins | Maximum level for the sum of dioxins (Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915) | Maximum level for the sum of dioxins and dlPCBs (Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 ) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitefishes or coregonus (L) | 5.59 | 3.08 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Canned sardines (EFSA+L) | 3.99 | 0.73 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Mackerel (EFSA+L) | 3.95 | 0.38 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Sea bream (SI+EFSA+L) | 3.17 | 0.83 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Cod (SI+EFSA) | 2.60 | 0.20 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Pike (EFSA) | 2.43 | 0.90 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Herrings (EFSA+L) | 2.42 | 1.32 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Anchovies (L) | 2.07 | 0.37 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Sea bass (SI+L) | 2.06 | 0.75 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Shrimps and prawns (SI+EFSA+L) | 1.95 | 0.36 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Catfishes (sladkovodni) (SI+EFSA) | 1.91 | 0.17 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Sardines and sardine-type fishes (SI+EFSA+L) | 1.76 | 0.30 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Canned mackerel (EFSA+L) | 1.29 | 0.43 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Fish fingers breaded (EFSA+L) | 1.20 | 0.82 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Sole (EFSA+L) | 1.00 | 0.65 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Canned salmon (EFSA) | 0.94 | 0.33 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Octopus (EFSA) | 0.82 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Milkfish (EFSA) | 0.82 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Bluefish (EFSA) | 0.82 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Marine fishes not identified (EFSA) | 0.82 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Ocean perch (EFSA) | 0.82 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Tilapias and similar (EFSA+L) | 0.71 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Salmon (SI+EFSA+L) | 0.68 | 0.28 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Fish paste surimi (EFSA) | 0.49 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Mussels (SI) | 0.44 | 0.19 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Squids (EFSA+L) | 0.42 | 0.12 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Tuna (SI+EFSA+L) | 0.40 | 0.09 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Hakes (SI+EFSA+L) | 0.38 | 0.09 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Trout (SI) | 0.30 | 0.17 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Smoked salmon (SI) | 0.28 | 0.17 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Canned tunas and similar (SI) | 0.19 | 0.17 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Cuttlefishes (L) | 0.05 | 0.01 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
| Allaska pollock (EFSA) | 0.03 | 0.16 | 3.50 | 6.50 |
Figure ZD28-2: Estimate of average long-term exposure of different age groups of general population (including non-consumers) of the inhabitants of Slovenia to dioxins and the sum of dioxins and dpPCBs due to the consumption of fish and other seafood, together with confidence intervals and comparison with the EU and TWI.
Sources:
Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection and EFSA, (2023)
| SI (fish and other seafood) Dioxins[%] | EU (all foods; EFSA, 2018) Dioxins | SI (fish and other seafood) Sum od dioxins and dlPCBs | EU (all foods; EFSA, 2018) Sum od dioxins and dlPCBs | TWI, Tolerable Weekly Intake for the Sum od dioxins and dlPCBs (EFSA, 2018) | Intervali napak | Max - Povprečje (dioksini+dpPCB) | SI dioksini | SI dioksini | SI vsota dioksinov in dpPCB | SI vsota dioksinov in dpPCB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INFANTS | 1.09 | 2.65 | 3.35 | 5.53 | 2 | 1495 | 2.18 | 0.80 | 0.65 | 2.18 | 1.85 |
| TODDLERS | 1.20 | 4.45 | 3.49 | 9.73 | 2 | 1921 | 0.91 | 0.62 | 1.99 | 1.57 | |
| ADOLESCENTS | 0.78 | 2.15 | 1.76 | 5.08 | 2 | 9856 | 0.32 | 0.39 | 0.78 | 0.77 | |
| ADULTS | 0.47 | 2.10 | 1.43 | 4.90 | 2 | 764 | 0.26 | 0.22 | 0.87 | 0.66 | |
| ELDERLY | 0.58 | 1.90 | 1.64 | 5.04 | 2 | 935 | 0.35 | 0.30 | 0.74 | 0.70 | |
| ALL | 0.79 | 2.21 | 2 | 1508 | 0.24 | 0.32 | 0.57 | 0.70 |
Figure ZD28-3: The 6 largest contributions (%) of different types of fish and other seafood, which contribute the most to the total average exposure to dioxins, due to consumption of fish and other seafood.
Sources:
Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection and EFSA, (2023)
| Other[%] | Shrimps and prawns[%] | Sardines and sardine-type fishes[%] | Pike[%] | Mackerel[%] | Herrings[%] | Hakes[%] | Fish paste or surimi[%] | Fish fingers breaded[%] | Catfishes (freshwater)[%] | Canned sardines[%] | Sea bream[%] | Trout[%] | Canned tunas and similar[%] | Sea bass[%] | Salmons[%] | Whitefishes or coregonus[%] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | 25.31 | 4.24 | 4.62 | 5.91 | 6.79 | 11.18 | 41.95 | ||||||||||
| ELDERLY | 13.23 | 7.36 | 12.60 | 6.09 | 6.03 | 4.12 | 50.56 | ||||||||||
| ADULTS | 38.41 | 5.25 | 10.07 | 5.62 | 16.53 | 5.56 | 18.56 | ||||||||||
| ADOLESCENTS | 17.88 | 4.61 | 4.86 | 8.40 | 8.22 | 7.88 | 48.14 | ||||||||||
| TODDLERS | 18.13 | 4.35 | 6.34 | 4.32 | 5.95 | 21.72 | 39.21 | ||||||||||
| INFANTS | 10.31 | 4.24 | 4.36 | 12.36 | 12.66 | 11.62 | 44.44 |
Figure ZD28-4: The 6 largest contributions (%) of different types of fish and other seafood, which contribute the most to the total average exposure to the sum of dioxins and dlPCBs, due to consumption of fish and other seafood.
Sources:
Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection and EFSA, (2023)
| Other[%] | Pike[%] | Canned tunas and similar[%] | Shrimps and prawns[%] | Fish paste or surimi[%] | Trout[%] | Catfishes (freshwater)[%] | Sardines and sardine-type fishes[%] | Hakes[%] | Sea bream[%] | Sea bass[%] | Canned sardines[%] | Mackerel[%] | Salmons[%] | Whitefishes or coregonus[%] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | 35.27 | 6.02 | 6.78 | 7.99 | 9.39 | 10.37 | 24.18 | ||||||||
| ELDERLY | 17.87 | 4.12 | 17.01 | 3.23 | 4.03 | 26.16 | 27.58 | ||||||||
| ADULTS | 43.29 | 8.22 | 6.64 | 8.57 | 10.92 | 12.76 | 9.60 | ||||||||
| ADOLESCENTS | 17.80 | 6.75 | 12.43 | 10.23 | 9.70 | 9.34 | 33.76 | ||||||||
| TODDLERS | 24.04 | 4.94 | 9.80 | 5.51 | 15.36 | 20.36 | 19.99 | ||||||||
| INFANTS | 14.80 | 14.79 | 8.35 | 16.84 | 11.34 | 10.20 | 23.69 |
Goals
- Z različnimi ukrepi zmanjšati vplive z dioksini in PCB obremenjenega okolja na prehranjevalno verigo;
- zniževati izpostavljenost ljudi in jo vzdrževati na varnih mejah;
- redno spremljati vsebnosti dioksinov, dioksinom podobnih PCB in drugih PCB v živilih, v skladu z določili Uredbe Komisije (EU) št. 2023/915 z dne 25. aprila 2023 o mejnih vrednostih nekaterih onesnaževal v živilih in razveljavitvi Uredbe (ES) št. 1881/2006 (EU, 2023)