Polychlorinated Biphenyl Concentration in Raw and Cooked North Atlantic Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) Fillets A. A. Salama, ‡ M. A. M. Mohamed, § B. Duval, † T. L. Potter,* ,† and R. E. Levin † Department of Food Science, Chenoweth Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, Food Science and Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafr El-Sheikh, Tanta University, Egypt, and Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt 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. Keywords: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); bluefish; cooking methods INTRODUCTION The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is one of the most common species caught by sport fishermen along the North and Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. Commercial catches also rose steadily through the 1980s with the exception of a sharp decline in 1988 (Eldrige and Meaburn, 1992). Their relatively high lipid content, feeding habits, and moderately long life span make bluefish susceptible to accumulation of lipophilic con- taminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (Sanders and Haynes, 1988). Surveys conducted in the mid-1980s showed that fish of fork length >500 mm often had PCB concentration in fillets in excess of the FDA tolerance level of 2 mg/ kg in the edible portion of raw fish (Eldridge and Meaburn, 1992; Sanders and Haynes, 1988; Trotter et al., 1989; NOAA/FDA/EPA, 1987). These data have indicated that, depending on consumption rates, blue- fish may present a significant dietary source of PCBs. However, current dietary exposure estimates are limited by the lack of more recent data. Nearly 10 years have elapsed since these surveys of PCB concentration in bluefish tissue were completed. Experience with Great Lakes salmonids (Stow, 1995) has suggested a down- ward trend in PCB concentration. The magnitude of the decrease for bluefish is unknown. Another uncertainty in the assessment of dietary PCB exposure by bluefish consumption is the impact of cooking. Only a single published study was identified in which PCB concentrations were reported in cooked bluefish tissue. In this case, Trotter et al. (1989) found that baking fillets for 1 h at 325 °F in a pan which allowed liquids to drain freely from the tissue, followed by skin removal, resulted in a 27% (average) decrease in PCB concentration. Studies using other fish species and other cooking techniques have given mixed results. Armbruster et al. (1987) reported that baking, broiling, frying, microwaving and poaching reduced PCB levels in striped bass fillets by 12-23%, while steaming gave a 5% increase in PCB concentration. With five species of Great Lakes fish, baking, charbroiling, pan frying, deep fat frying, salt boiling, canning, and smoking reduced PCB levels by 20-47% (Zabik and Zabik, 1996). The greatest reduction was with smoking. Earlier studies with Chinook and Coho salmon and carp showed inconsistent or minimal losses with various cooking techniques (Smith et al., 1973; Zabik et al., 1982, 1995). On the basis of these variable and limited results, it was concluded that additional studies were needed to guide consumers in cooking techniques which can reduce dietary PCB exposure from bluefish consumption and to provide toxicologists with more accurate PCB exposure estimates. In the study reported here, PCB levels were measured in bluefish fillets before and after cooking. Six common cooking techniques were used. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fish Source. Bluefish caught commercially in Massachu- setts waters were donated by the University of Massachusetts * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed [e-mail tpotter@fnr.umass.edu; fax (413) 545-1262]. † University of Massachusetts. ‡ Tanta University. § Cairo University. 1359 J. Agric. Food Chem. 1998, 46, 1359-1362 S0021-8561(97)00714-0 CCC: $15.00 © 1998 American Chemical Society Published on Web 02/28/1998