Levels of Pesticide Residues and PCB in Diet by Model Menu Study during a One-week Period

Abstract

Daily intakes of PCB, organochlorine pesticides and organophosphorus pesticides were etermined from seven typical menus of the Kansai district which were experimentally prepared on the basis of the recommended necessary nutritional intake for Japanese. Samples were analyzed by using a hand-made mini-column for clean-up and capillary column-GC. The numbers of samples in which each pesticide was detected were as follows: HCH isomers, 7; DDT compounds, 7; PCB, 7; dieldrin, 1; diazinon, 5; MEP, 4; malathion, 4 out of 7 in each case. Endrin, heptachlor epoxide, captan, captafol, chlorbenzilate, chlorpyrifos, PAP, MPP, parathion, prothiofos, EPN and phosalone were below the detection limits. The average daily intakes of HCH isomers, DDT compounds, dieldrin, PCB, diazinon, MEP, and malathion were 0.95μg, 2.09μg, 0.33μg, 0.47μg, 0.82μg, 1.67μg and 1.59μg, respectively. On the whole, daily intakes of these environmental contaminants were at trace levels, but it remains necessary to measure levels these contaminants in the diet for a long period of time.