Are flame retardants in our food supply?

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), flame retardants commonly used in consumer products around the world, and an emerging environmental contaminant, have been reported in increasing concentrations in people. Little is known about the toxicology or method of ingestion of these compounds. However, more than 140,000,000 pounds are produced annually worldwide, while production of other environmentally persistent chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides, has been curtailed.

"The worry is that PBDEs, like other persistent and ubiquitous contaminants ... are in the environment ... not only in fish and in various foods--such as meat, milk, and eggs--but also in substantial quantities in indoor air," warns Alex Trent, executive director, Salmon of the Americas, Princeton, N.J. "While there is little that salmon farmers can do about PBDEs in the environment, we are taking steps now to identity ways to keep them out of farmed salmon. By tracking levels and analyzing the sources of contaminants early on, we intend to deal with the issue before it becomes a food safety problem in the hopes that other food producing groups will follow suit.

"There are no established guidelines or tolerances yet from the Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory body," adds Trent. Currently, several organizations are working on developing the proper methodology to determine levels and several comprehensive market basket studies are in the planning stages. This will define the PBDE levels in all foods.

Experts explain that insufficient information is available concerning PBDEs or how people ingest them. "We do know that not all brominated flame retardants are the same," notes professor Robert Hale, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg. "The three major PBDE formulations are used to treat different products and have different physical properties. This likely affects environmental release and exposure. But at present we don't know conclusively all the routes by which PBDEs are getting into humans or their relative importance. While food may be one source, the environment in our homes and offices are additional potential routes."

One of the most urgent needs is for broad toxicological assessments of the different PBDE types, indicates Mike Gallo, director of Toxicology, Department of Environmental & Occupational Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, N.J. "It is likely, as with other compounds of this sort, that there will be varying degrees of toxicity. Only after we have tested these compounds will we know what kind of a problem we have.

"Current levels may be low and at the moment there does not appear to be a food safety issue. However, we need to work quickly to get more exposure and toxicity information to prevent increasing amounts from getting into the environment and the food chain."

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