Metals, dioxins, and PCBs surveys published
Wednesday 26 July 2006
The Agency has today published three surveys investigating levels of metals, dioxins and PCBs in foods, with two of the surveys focusing on offal.
Offal is the edible internal parts of an animal, such as liver, kidney, heart, tongue, tripe and sweetbreads. Offal products include pâté, black pudding and haggis. Offal is usually eaten in smaller quantities and less often than other types of meat.
Metals in offals
Inorganic environmental contaminants, such as heavy metals, are found in food as a result of human activity (such as waste from industrial processes) or from natural sources. Metals tend to accumulate in animals� livers and kidneys, with the result being that these foods normally contain higher concentrations of these metals than other foods.
The first survey looked at the levels of various metals and other elements, including aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper and iron in 165 offal and offal product samples.
Higher levels of copper and iron were found in some liver samples. However, these levels pose very little risk to human health since liver tends to be eaten in small amounts compared with other meats.
Dioxins and PCBs in offals
In a second survey of offal and offal products, 173 retail samples were analysed for dioxins and PCBs.
Levels were generally low, although higher concentrations of dioxins were found in liver samples from lamb and venison (deer), with some results above the current dioxin limit for lamb liver (6 picograms [pico denotes 10-12] World Health Organisation Toxic Equivalents per gram of fat). However, taking into account the overall levels of dioxin in the diet and the amount of liver people eat, this is not a concern for consumers' health.
Advice on eating liver
The existing Agency advice on eating liver remains unchanged. This advice, primarily concerned with the amount of vitamin A in liver, is that people who regularly eat liver should not eat it more than once a week, and pregnant women should avoid liver. People who follow this advice will, at the same time, keep their exposure to dioxins from liver low.
Dioxins and PCBs in a variety of foods
In a third survey the Agency tested a wide range of foods to provide information for a European Commission review of dioxin and PCB limits due in 2008.
Dioxins and PCBs were analysed in 142 retail samples of foods bought across the UK. The results show that, where existing EC limits apply, all of the samples tested were within those limits, with the exception of dioxins in two hen egg samples. However, when the total amount of dioxins and PCBs people are likely to eat in their food is taken into account, the results do not cause health concerns.