HIGHLY CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS (HCHs) IN FISH – Peter Howgate
Date 20.10.2000

I made a literature search for HCHs in fish a couple of years ago and looking back in my notes I did not come across any on tuna.  No search is completely comprehensive so there could well be some data out there, perhaps in the ´grey´ literature which I did not reach.    There is a good, recent review of these compounds in food by Wells & de Boer (1999).  They give data on contents in fish as a commodity, but not individual species.  Ackefors et al (1990) gives data on individual species, but not including tuna.  National surveys of HCHs in foods might include tuna, and it could be worth contacting regulatory bodies responsible for monitoring foods to see if they have information.  For example, here in Britain, our MAFF surveyed some UK-caught and imported fish for dioxins and PCBs, but again, tuna was not included.

 Further Reading

Ackefors, H., Hilge, V. & Lindén, O. (1990)  Contaminants in fish and shellfish products.  Aquaculture Europe 1989 – Business Joins Science. N de Pauw & R. Billard (eds.)  Reviews and panel reports of the international conference, Bordeaux, France, October 2-4 1989.  European Aquaculture Society, Special Publication Nº 12, Bredene, Belgium. ASBN 90-71625-06-0. Pp 305-344

MAFF (1999)  Dioxins and PCBs in UK and imported fish.  Food Surveillance Information Sheet Nº 184.  (Available on the Web, URL www.maff.gov.uk)

Wells, D.E. & de Boer, J. (1999)  Polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and other polyhalogenated hydrocarbons as environmental contaminants in food.  Environmental contaminants in food (Edited by Moffat, C.F. & Whittle, I.J.)  pp. 305-363, Sheffield, England.  Sheffield Academic Press, ISBN 1-85075-921-9