Presence of ethoxyquin pesticides in fish
Ethoxyquin belongs to the group of pesticides but also serves as a preservative added to fish feed because it has antioxidant properties and prevents the oxidation of highly unsaturated fatty acids, including EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, C20:5 n-3) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, C22:6 n-3) that contribute to animal and human health. In order to make the transport and storage of fish food safe and to prevent its spontaneous combustion, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) organization requires the addition of ethoxyquin as well as other antioxidants - butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT), with ethoxyquin being the most commonly used preservative.
The European Union (Regulation EC No. 2316/98 of October 26, 1998) has set a maximum allowed concentration of ethoxyquin in fish feed of 150 mg/kg.
However, with the latest Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/962 of June 7, 2017) comes the suspension of approval for ethoxyquin as a feed additive for all animal species and categories. The problem arises during the production of ethoxyquin because impurities such as p-phenetidine are produced, which is a potentially mutagenic analyte for both animals and humans. The European Commission has also given special transitional measures where the presence of ethoxyquin is allowed until 2019 so that food manufacturers can find alternative solutions. Currently, there is a problem of poor research into new antioxidants that would be as effective as ethoxyquin.
The fish most affected by the use of ethoxyquin is salmon. The European Institute for Marine Research (IMR) found ethoxyquin in salmon fillets in a maximum concentration of 0.2 mg/kg, and the average values of ethoxyquin in the period from 2005 to 2009 were from 0.02 mg/kg to 0.04 mg. / kg. Ethoxyquin in salmon is primarily metabolized into ethoxyquin-dimer and the highest dimer concentration found was 2.5 mg/kg. It should be noted that in the European Union the maximum allowed concentration of ethoxyquin in poultry is 0.05 mg/kg.
The European Reference Laboratories for Pesticide Residue Analysis (EURL-SRM) proposed a method for determining ethoxyquin and ethoxyquin-dimers in fish and fish food, thus facilitating control in all EU countries.
The Sample Control laboratory is an accredited laboratory for the analysis of ethoxyquins in fish and fish feed using the EURL-SRM method on UPLC-MS/MS.
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