Average total dietary intakes of organochlorine compounds from the Finnish diet

Abstract

As a contribution to the FAO/WHO organochlorine monitoring programme, samples of milk, eggs, beef pork, chops, game, animal livers as well as fish-liver oils were analysed for PCB-, DDT- and toxaphene compounds, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), heptachlor and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH). From the annual consumption of the foodstuffs investigated average intakes of organochlorines were estimated and compared with the acceptable daily intakes (ADI) as set by FAO/WHO. Intakes from the sources studied were then compared with those from fish, butter and margarine. Total average dietary intakes were determined to be 14.4 micrograms/day for PCB, 2.9 for DDT, 2,3 for gamma-HCH, 1.7 for HCB, and 0.5 micrograms/day for heptachlor representing 0.08% of the ADI for DDT, 0.3% for HCH, 4.2% for HCB and 1.4% of the ADI for heptachlor.