Mixture-risk-assessment of pesticide residues in retail polyfloral honey

[EN] The presence of even tiny quantities of pesticide residues in honey, a traditional healthy product, is a matter of concern for producers, packers and consumers. This paper aims to quantify pesticides in retail brands of polyfloral honey, and to calculate the mixture risk assessment of honey for consumers according to the results obtained from the analyzed samples. A LC-MS/MS multi-residue method was developed and validated for 13 compounds: 11 pesticides (chlorfenvinphos, coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate, amitraz, which are very common in veterinary treatments, and imidacloprid, acetamiprid, simazine, cyproconazole, tebuconazole, chlorpiryphos-methyl, chlorpiryphos, widely used in agricultural practices), and 2 metabolites of amitraz (2,4-DMA and 2,4-DMF). Results showed that the samples contained pesticide residues at different concentrations; however, the MRL in honey for each of the 11 pesticides was never exceeded. The most common were amitraz (from 1 to 50 ¿Ýg/kg) present in 100% of the samples, and coumaphos (up to 14 ¿Ýg/kg) in 63%. The hazard index (HI) for adults was less than 0.002 in all cases, a long way from 1, the value established as the limit of acceptability. Therefore, commercial honey does not represent any significant risk to health. However, considering that residue levels should be present ¡§as low as reasonably achievable¡¿ it is deemed necessary to make an effort to reduce their presence by appropriate agricultural and, above all, beekeeping practices due to acaridae treatments.This study forms part of a project funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (Programa Estatal de Investigacion Desarrollo e Innovacion Orientada a los retos de la sociedad; Project number AGL2013-48646-R), for which the authors are grateful.Juan Borrás, MDS.; Doménech Antich, EM.; Escriche Roberto, MI. (2016). Mixture-risk-assessment of pesticide residues in retail polyfloral honey. Food Control. 67:127-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.02.051S1271346

Occurrence and spatial distribution of chemical contaminants in edible fish species collected from UK and proximate marine waters

The occurrence of a range of regulated and emerging organic environmental contaminants was investigated in 182 samples of edible marine fish sampled mainly from UK marine regions, but extending northerly to the coast of Norway and south to the Algarve. These species (sprats, mackerel, turbot, halibut, herring, grey mullet, sea bass, grey mullet, sardines, etc.) are among those considered to be at the highest risk of contamination with regulated contaminants such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs, dioxins), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), but the occurrence of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) was also investigated. Sub-sets of samples (50–75) were also analysed for emerging contaminants: polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), polybrominated and mixed halogenated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls (PBDD/Fs, PXDD/Fs and PXBs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Contaminant occurrence varied with species and location, but all measured contaminants were detected, with sprats, sea bass, sardines, mackerel, and herring showing higher tissue concentrations. The concentrations of the different contaminants in the various samples were mapped utilising the GPS coordinate data of the capture locations to visualise spatial distribution levels. In terms of catch location, fish sampled from the coasts of southern Britain, north-western France and the Irish Sea appeared to contain proportionately higher levels of some contaminants - e.g. samples from the Irish Sea tended to show higher PCN concentrations, whereas higher levels of PCBs were observed in some fish sampled off the coasts of northern France. Similarly, samples of mullet from the southeast coast of UK showed much higher concentrations of BDE-99 than the other regions. In terms of occurrence trends, PCDD/F and PCB concentrations show a modest decline over the last decade but where limited background data is available for emerging contaminants, there is no evidence of downward trends