PCBs and PCDD/PCDFs in fishery products: Occurrence, congener profile and compliance with European Union legislation

PCB and PCDD/F concentrations and congener specific profiles were determined in seafood (fish, cephalopods, crustaceans) purchased in supermarkets in Southern Italy. The results intended to assess and compare the levels and congener profiles among the various organisms and evaluate whether the pollutant concentrations exceed the maximum permitted levels according to European Union guidelines. Contaminant accumulation followed the order PCBs > PCDFs > PCDDs in all samples. Species-specific bioaccumulation of contaminants and differences in PCB and PCDD/F profiles among the three different groups of seafood were noted. Pollutant concentrations, given as sum of WHO-TEQ, in all samples (fish: 0.28 pg g−1 wet wt; cephalopods: 0.01 pg g−1 wet wt; crustaceans: 0.03 pg g−1 wet wt) did not exceed the maximum limits for human consumption. Also the sum of six indicator PCBs (fish: 0.07-16.7 ng g−1 wet weight; cephalopods: 0.05-0.21 ng g−1 wet weight; crustaceans: 0.07-0.57 ng g−1 wet weight) was below the level prescribed by the legislation in all the species tested. The estimated dietary intakes (fish: 0.52 TEQs/kg bw/week; cephalopods: 0.01 TEQs/kg bw/week; crustaceans: 0.02 TEQs/kg bw/week) were below the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) proposed by the European Commission. Therefore, the samples analyzed can be considered safe considering the levels obtained and the in-force legislation.