Consumption of foods of animal origin as determinant of contamination by organochlorine pesticides and polychlorobiphenyls: Results from a population-based study in Spain

The level of contamination with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and dietary habits and food consumption was extensively studied in the population from the Canary Islands (Spain). Because foodstuffs of animal origin are well known to be prominent contributors to these contaminants, the current study aimed to assess the role of the dietary intake of animal products as a probability factor for increased serum POPs. The intake of animal products (dietary variables) as a determining factor for serum POP levels was investigated using multivariate statistical models. Our results showed that while poultry, rabbit, and cheese consumption increases the probability of having high levels of non-DDT-derivative pesticides, sausage, yogurt, lard, and bacon consumption decreases the probability of having high levels of these pesticides. In addition, poultry, rabbit, eggs, cream, and butter consumption increased the probability of having detectable levels of marker PCB, while dairy desserts decreased the probability of having detectable levels of these PCBs. On the contrary, sausage and meat consumption increased the probability of having detectable levels of dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs). The current results confirm that dietary intake of foodstuffs of animal origin is a relevant risk factor for the accumulation of POPs (and therefore their serum levels). Our study indicates that the analysis of dietary patterns may be useful for identifying those individuals that will probably present a high body burden of POPs. Because POPs can exert deleterious effects on human health, the identification of populations at risk of being highly contaminated is mandatory in order to implement policies that minimize the exposure to these compounds.