Detection of Pollutants in Organic and Non-Organic Food: Are PAHs Coming from Pesticides?

Thirty-five samples of organic and non-organic equivalent foods were assessed for pollutants, including 800 pesticides. Sausages and cheeses were tested because they come from animals that can have bioaccumulation capacity. Since formulants of pesticides have been shown to include petroleum residues, such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals, in total 24 PAHs were also tested, using accredited methods. Surprisingly, only a few food products contained declared active substances of pesticides above the regulatory threshold of 10 μg/kg. This threshold is not adapted for a real risk assessment, since, for instance, blood testosterone in a man is usually below this level, at which most pesticides are endocrine and nervous disruptors. Metals were detected in all samples, with more Si in non-organic cheeses, but PAHs were found at a maximum of 6.5 times higher in non-organic sausages with 3 carcinogenic ones, in comparison to organic products; this makes a toxicity 6,606 times higher. Due to this large difference for PAHs, and their generally recognised carcinogenic, endocrine, and nervous toxicity, we propose that these could be considered as markers of chemical food pollution, possibly linked to the presence of numerous pesticides below the threshold.