Comparison of seven indicator PCBs and three coplanar PCBs in beef, pork, and chicken fat

The risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is difficult since complex congeners were used in many industrial applications for a long period of time and the residue monitoring in foods of animal origin and the environment were not established in comparable systems. The relationships of determined concentrations in indicator PCB congeners (mono- and di-ortho PCBs) and coplanar PCB congeners (non-ortho PCBs) in livestock products are presented in this study. The concentrations of seven indicator PCBs were compared with three coplanar PCBs in beef, pork, and chicken fat. Distributions of concentration for the indicator PCBs in three different animal species were similar except for that of PCB-118 (2,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl) in pork fat. The congeners with the highest concentration were PCB-138 (2,2',3,4,4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl) in beef and pork fat and PCB-28 (2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl) in chicken fat. The bioaccumulation and metabolism of PCBs in animal species represent different congener profiles in livestock products. The percentage of the total concentration of three coplanar PCBs was about 2% of the total concentration of the seven indicator PCBs. Relatively high concentration of mono-ortho and di-ortho PCBs in fat samples of livestock products may be calculated with the concentration of coplanar PCBs that can be usually determined on a sequential procedure with dioxin analysis. Therefore, the relationship of the amounts between seven indicator PCBs and three coplanar PCBs may be useful to derive the composition and level of contaminants in beef, pork, and chicken.