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Formation of polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDFs) after heating of a salmon sample spiked with decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209)

  • 12th IHPA Forum and selected studies on POPs
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Abstract

Fish is a major source for the intake of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). However, fish is scarcely consumed without being cooked, and previous studies showed that the heating of salmon fillet contaminated with BDE-209 for longer periods of time was accompanied with the partial transformation of this brominated flame retardant. In this study, we heated salmon fillet spiked with BDE-209 and verified that this process was linked with the formation of polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDFs) in the fish. Each minute of heating 1 g salmon fillet spiked with 200 ng BDE-209 generated about 0.5 ‰ PBDFs relative to the initial amount of the pre-dioxin BDE-209. This result of the chemical analysis by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was verified by means of an effect-directed bio-assay (DR CALUX). While unheated salmon with BDE-209 and heated salmon without BDE-209 were tested nontoxic, the bioanalytical response of fish linearly increased upon heating. We also found that PBDF formation did neither occur with BDE-47 nor when BDE-209 was heated in edible oil instead of salmon fillet. Due to the formation of PBDFs in this process, the consumption of heated, BDE-209 contaminated fish may add to the uptake of dioxin-like compounds with our diet.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financial support of this work (VE 164/17-2). We are also thankful for Rainer Malisch and Alexander Kotz for the donation of PBDF standard solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    Walter Vetter, Paul Bendig, Marina Blumenstein & Florian Hägele

  2. BioDetection Systems BV (BDS), Science Park 406, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Peter A. Behnisch & Abraham Brouwer

Authors
  1. Walter Vetter
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  2. Paul Bendig
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  3. Marina Blumenstein
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  4. Florian Hägele
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  5. Peter A. Behnisch
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  6. Abraham Brouwer
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Correspondence to Walter Vetter.

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Responsible editor: Roland Kallenborn

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Vetter, W., Bendig, P., Blumenstein, M. et al. Formation of polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDFs) after heating of a salmon sample spiked with decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209). Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 14530–14536 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3267-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3267-z

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