May 18, 2007

Study finds seafood sold in China contains DDT

A new study, published in the latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, found seafood samples from markets in China that contained concentrations of contaminants high enough to pose threats to human health.

Specifically, the seafood contains Organochlorine pesticides such as DDT, which can accumulate at the top of the food chain -humans.

Although these pesticides were already banned 20 years ago in China, it was used for much longer before that.

The study also concluded that new sources of DDT may be present and contaminating seafood.

The study was conducted on seafood from markets in 11 coastal cities in Guangdong Province, which has seen tremendous economic growth and industrialization in recent years.

Seafood from markets were analysed for 21 organochlorine pesticides. Of those, DDT and HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) were detected most frequently and measured at concentrations enough to pose a threat to human health. The highest concentrations were observed in mollusks, specifically oysters, mussels, and squid.

Researchers said further research was urgently required to identify the new sources of contamination. China accounts for 10 percent of the global export volume in seafood.