Home > Technical Articles > Pesticides, PCBs and Prop 65

Pesticides and PCBs are of current interest for fish oil products due to Proposition 65. Fish oil products have become a popular health food supplement. Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs accumulate in fats of animals where they stay for many years. Most organochlorine pesticides are listed on Prop 65 because they cause cancer, and their Prop 65 "no significant risk level" can be quite low. Fish Oil Pesticides for Prop. 65
No Significant Risk Level (ug/day)
Aldrin

0.04

Chlordane 0.5
DDT, DDE, DDD 2
Dieldrin 0.04
Heptachlor 0.2
Heptachlor epoxide 0.08
Hexachlorobenzene 0.4
Mirex 0.04
PCBs 0.09

Assuming a daily dose of fish oil product may be 1 gram or more, detection limits of 0.01-0.002 ug/g are required to be confident that the chemicals are not present above the limit.

Detecting these chemicals in fish oil presents a challenge. To remove the  triglycerides from the sample, gel

 permeation chromatography can be used. Coupled with other forms of adsorption column and sulfuric acid (PCBs only) clean-ups, this allows a relatively large sample (5-10 g) to be concentrated and analyzed by standard gas chromatographic techniques for pesticides

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