Reevaluation on accumulation and depletion of dioxin-like compounds in eggs of laying hens: Quantification on dietary risk from feed to egg.

Abstract

Updated assessment on transfer of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) from feed to food is essential for understanding human exposure risk. A controlled feeding experiment was conducted for laying hens to reevaluate the transfer characteristics of dioxin-like compounds from feed to egg. Two fortified diets (1.17 and 5.13 pg TEQ g-1 dry weight), made by blending with fly ash, were fed to laying hens for 14 days, followed by 28-days depletion. Levels of ∑TEQPCDD/Fs+DL-PCBs in eggs rapidly increased once exposure started, reaching at 1.98 and 6.86 pg TEQ g-1 lw at the end of exposure for low- and high-exposure groups, respectively, and dropped to under the European legislation (maximum levels: 5.0 pg TEQ g-1 lw) after 28-days depletion. The quantitative depletions showed that the half-lives (T1/2) of ∑TEQPCDD/Fs in eggs were 23 and 14 days for low- and high-exposure groups, respectively. The depletion and accumulation rates of PCDD/Fs were in the range of 0.026-0.151 and 0.005-0.016 day-1, respectively, representing that the T1/2 of PCDD/Fs in eggs ranged from 5 to 27 days. The depletion kinetics of DL-PCBs was not significant in egg. The hens with higher laying rates exhibited shorter T1/2 of PCDD/Fs, implying that increasing laying rate could expedite the depletion of PCDD/Fs in egg. The T1/2 of PCDD/Fs in egg were negatively correlated with the chlorine number, indicating that lower chlorinated congeners tended to be retained in the egg. Transfer rates of PCDD/Fs were in the range of 4-19%, which were lower than the previous results. These results were attributed to short exposure time and low bioavailability of PCDD/Fs in fly ash. Estimations of dietary intake highlighted the dietary risk of PCDD/Fs from feed to egg, which would pose limited adverse effects on human health.