Levels of organochlorine pesticide residue in meat products inspected by the federal government

Abstract

To bring attention to the frequency and the levels of organochlorine pesticide residue in meat, 445 samples of raw material (bovine fat) from bovine carcasses collected from meat packing plants and 132 samples of preserved meat (canned, such as corned or roast beef) were analyzed. Seventy-seven samples of bovine fat and 8 of preserved meat were discovered to have pesticide residue above the maximum acceptable limits. Pesticide residue was found in practically all the samples without, however, exceeding the acceptable limits. Twenty-seven percent of the bovine fat samples and 10.6% of the preserved meat contained residue above the legal tolerance levels. Heptachlor, BHC, and Dieldrin were the most frequent; Lindane and DDT, the least.