[Estimating exposure to organochlorine compounds from consuming pasteurised milk in Cartagena, Colombia]

Estimating adult residents' exposure to organochlorine compounds from drinking milk being marketed in the city of Cartagena.

This was a descriptive observational study; 47 samples were taken from different production lots of brands of pasteurised milk being sold in the city of Cartagena. The milk samples' fat content was determined by gas chromatography. 596 adults were also surveyed whose dairy product consumption frequency had been investigated to estimate potential and acceptable daily intake and assess the risk of consuming organochlorines.

The people surveyed here were exposed to organochlorine compounds through consuming 12.1 mg/g/day in pasteurised milk being sold in the city of Cartagena. 100 % of the samples tested were contaminated with one of the pesticides being studied. The study population had a daily intake (IDP) of organochlorine compounds greater than that permitted by FAO/WHO guidelines.

It cannot be recommended that people in Cartagena do not drink milk; however, the competent authorities can be requested to require dairy-product producers to launch campaigns to improve the quality of milk from a toxicological point of view.