Polychlorinated biphenyl concentration in raw and cooked north atlantic bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) fillets

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured before and after fillets of six bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) were cooked. Six cooking treatments were used with one fish per treatment. PCB concentrations ranged between 0.114 and 0.748 mg/kg in raw fish and between 0.102 and 0.315 mg/kg in cooked fish. The average for the raw fish was 0.31 and for the cooked fish was 0.19 mg/kg. PCB concentrations in both raw and cooked fillets were well below levels reported for raw fillets from fish tested in the mid-to-late 1980s and FDA health advisories. A decrease in PCB concentration in four of the six cooking treatments was observed. They included, in order of greatest decrease, smoking > microwave > chrabroiling (skin off) > charbroiling (skin on). There was no change with convection oven baking and pan frying. When adjusted for weight loss during cooking, all cooking methods showed PCB loss (average = 46%). The most effective cooking methods for removing PCBs from bluefish included smoking and microwave baking. The percentages of PCBs lost were 65 and 60, respectively. Losses for the other treatments were 46% (charbroiling with skin off), 37% (charbroiling with skin on), 27% (pan frying), and 39% (convection oven baking). The data suggest a generally decreasing trend in PCB concentration in bluefish and point to the need to account for cooking losses when estimating PCB exposures from bluefish consumption.