Feed materials used in the preparation of food in pork production and its potential for dioxin contamination in the meat

Abstract

This study assessed the contribution of various feed ingredients used in swine feeding as a source of dioxins, furans and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) contamination in pork, considering the dietary changes during breeding, raising and fattening. Raw materials or feed ingredients were separated into different categories, developing a dataset with EROD/H4IIE bioassay results (determination of 7-Ethoxyresorufin O-Deethylase activity in H4IIE hepatoma cell line). Two types of diets were established that considered the varying percentages of ingredients necessary during the productive cycle of these animals. These two diets were based on those of common use in Chile. A descriptive analysis of the information contained in the dataset was performed, characterising the observations behaviour. A transfer model in which the body burden of dioxin increases proportionally to the consumption of contaminated food was proposed. The highest average contaminant concentration, expressed as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalent toxics derived from the EROD/H4IIE bioassay (TCDD-EQ/g) was found in ingredients of mineral origin (16.21 pg TCDD-EQ/g), followed by those of fatty acid mixtures (2.03 pg TCDD-EQ/g), while the lowest average concentrations were found in dietary premixes (0.29 pg TCDD-EQ/g) and vegetable oils (0.35 pg TCDD-EQ/g). With regard to the fransfer model, the evaluation of the contribution of the different feed ingredients to the total amount of diet contamination showed that the vegetable components had the highest value, due to the high proportion of them in feed. The second highest contributor was the raw material of mineral source.