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Determination of selected endocrine disruptors in organic, free-range, and battery-produced hen eggs and risk assessment

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Abstract

An increasing amount of evidence suggests that phthalic acid esters (PAE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and organochlorine pesticides (OCP) are related to mutagenic, carcinogenic, and endocrine disruptor effects (EDCs). These lipophilic compounds are highly resistant to breakdown processes, and consequently remain in the environment, followed by uptake into the food chain. Human exposure to lipophilic compounds results from the consumption of food containing EDCs, mainly foodstuffs of animal origin with a high fat content, since these contaminants accumulate in fatty tissues. Foodstuffs in which EDCs can accumulate include meat, fish, eggs, and milk. We investigated the contamination in edible eggs to determine whether relative differences in the contaminants’ residue levels appeared in three types of egg production (i.e., battery, free-range, and organic). The results showed that PAEs, especially dimethyl phthalate contamination, was the most abundant in the battery eggs, and the PCBs, PBDEs, and OCPs were the most abundant in the free-range eggs. The eggs were contaminated by more than one chemical, and as many as five contaminants (PCB180, PBDE47, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, and di-n-butyl phthalate in battery eggs, and PCB138, PCB153, PCB180, diethyl phthalate, and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in organic eggs) were detected in the same egg. However, none of the chemicals detected were at the maximum limit of acceptable risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Veterinary Control Central Research Institute, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey

    Ozgur Kuzukiran

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Begum Yurdakok-Dikmen, Sedat Sevin & Ayhan Filazi

  3. Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Ufuk Tansel Sireli & Guzin Iplikcioglu-Cil

Authors
  1. Ozgur Kuzukiran
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  2. Begum Yurdakok-Dikmen
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  3. Sedat Sevin
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  4. Ufuk Tansel Sireli
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  5. Guzin Iplikcioglu-Cil
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  6. Ayhan Filazi
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Correspondence to Ayhan Filazi.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Kuzukiran, O., Yurdakok-Dikmen, B., Sevin, S. et al. Determination of selected endocrine disruptors in organic, free-range, and battery-produced hen eggs and risk assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 35376–35386 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3400-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3400-5

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