Banned Organochlorine Pesticides Still in Our Food: The Presence of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Milk, Meat, Liver, and Kidney in Jordan Cattle

Abstract

Jehad S. Al-Hawad

To assess the potential risks posed by residual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) to human health, we evaluated the consumption of animal products as the primary route of human exposure to these compounds. In this study, 120 samples of milk, meat, and edible tissues (liver and kidney) were collected from farms and slaughterhouses in Amman, Jordan. Fifteen OCPs, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), were identified and further investigated. These samples were extracted using the Soxhlet method, subjected to Florisil column chromatography, and analyzed using gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC–ECD). The results revealed that 40%, 40%, 46.7%, and 33.3% of the examined milk, meat, liver, and kidney samples, respectively, were contaminated with OCPs. This study confirmed that residual OCPs persist in cow-derived food products in Jordan.