Table 1.
Organic pesticides of importance to poultry. Possible adverse effects and toxicological guidance limits for dietary ingestion in chickens.
| Compound | Use | Possible hazards | Recommended maximum level in total poultry diet (mg/kg DM)1 | Maximum limits (mg/kg wet weight) in chicken meat fat2 | Toxicological guidance values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCP | |||||
| Aldrin and Dieldrin (Σ HHDN + HEOD) | Insecticide | Neurological symptoms, endocrine disruption, infertility and fetal malformation, diabetes, cancer (breast cancer, testicular, prostate, liver, and kidney cancer), reproductive problems, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, glucose intolerance, and obesity | 0.01 | 0.2 | Mean lethal dose 10–15 mg/kg BW in chickens in a long-term study (Arant, 1952) |
| Chlordane | Insecticide | 0.01 | 0.2 (mammals, no value set for chickens) | NOAEL of 0.3 ppm diet per day in chickens. Mean lethal dose of 220-230 ppm diet (FAO/WHO, 1968) | |
| Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) (Σ p,p'-DDT + o,p'-DDT + p,p' DDE + p,p'-DDD) | Insecticide | 0.05 | 5 | No effect on hepatic microsomal protein on hens orally administered 40 mg/hen of technical-grade DDT for 5 d. No effect on liver weights or body weight in chickens fed 800 ppm p,p’-DDT for 2–6 wk. Ataxia and death was observed in chickens fed 1,600 p,p’-DDT ppm for 2–4 wk (ATSDR, 2002) | |
| Endrin | Insecticide/Rodenticide | 0.03 | 0.05 | NOAEL of 1 ppm in feed in chickens. Mean lethal dose of approximately 2–4 ppm feed (EFSA, 2005b) | |
| Heptachlor (Σ heptachlor + epoxide) | Insecticide | 0.02 | 0.2 | Chickens fed heptachlor up to 0.3 ppm diet for 8 wk had no adverse effect. The mean lethal dose 62.4 mg/kg BW (IPCS, 1984) | |
| Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) | Fungicide | 0.01 | 1 | Chickens fed 100 HCB ppm for 6 mo had no adverse effect (Avrahami and Steele, 1972) | |
| Hexachlorocyclohexane (other than γ-HCH) | Insecticide | 0.02 | 0.3 | Dietary NOAEL of 625 ppm day in laying chicken fed beta-HCH for 12 wk (IPCS, 1991a) | |
| Lindane (γ-HCH) | Insecticide | 0.1 | 0.7 | Acute oral LD50 596.8 mg/kg BW, no death at 150 mg/kg/BW. NOEL 4 ppm diet for 27 d (macroscopic changes in the liver) but no increase in mortality up to 84 ppm (IPCS, 1991b) | |
| Mirex | Insecticide/flame retardant | 0.005 | Not set | Chickens fed mirex at 10 ppm and above had changes in the liver (Davison et al., 1976) | |
| Toxaphene | Pest control on cotton and other field crops and poultry | 0.05 (mg/kg 12% moisture content) (EU, 2011a) |
na | Chickens fed 100 ppm diet from day 1 to maturity had had increased mortality. Mean lethal dose in birds for a 5-day dietary study is between 538–828 ppm (FAO/UNEP, 2005) | |
| PCB/BDE | |||||
| Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) | Flame retardant | Reproductive problems, cancer, endocrine disruption, liver injury, cardiovascular disease in animal models | na | na | No NOEL/LOEL established in hatched chicks (McKernan et al., 2009) nor other species |
| Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) (Σ congeners) | Heat exchange fluids, electrical transformers and capacitors, additives in paint, carbonless copy paper, and plastics, lime | 0.05 | 0.2 | Broiler breeder and leghorn hens who were fed diets containing 0, 20 and 50 ppm Aroclor 1242 for 1 wk experienced reduced hatchability (67.3 and 27.8% of controls, respectively) (Briggs and Harris, 1973). Feed consumption reduced at 20 ppm (Lillie et al., 1974) | |
| Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) | 0 | na | No adverse effects up to approximately 64 ppm in feed for several wk, reduced feed intake and weight gains above 75 ppm and food refusal above 640 ppm (IPCS, 1984) | ||
| Dioxin and Furan | |||||
| Dioxin (PCDDs/PCDFs) + dl-PCBs (Σ TEQ) | By-product of high-temperature processes, pesticide production, chlorine bleaching of paper | High blood pressure, glucose intolerance, and disturbances in mental and motor development, cancer, diabetes, endocrine disruption | 0.2 ng TEQ/kg DM | 3 pg TEQ/g fat (EU, 2011b) | Chicken oral NOAEL for mortality 100 ppm day for a 21 d exposure and 6,250 ppm for single exposure. Oedema in chicken fed 1,000 pg/g BW for 21 d (Gatehouse, 2004). Maximum daily intake recommended 1.4 pg/g/day. |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and PFAS | |||||
| Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) | Fire-fighting foam, insecticide, photoimaging, aviation hydraulic fluids | Toxicity toward mammals in subchronic repeated dose studies at low concentrations, as well as rat reproductive toxicity with mortality of pups occurring shortly after birth, carcinogenic, and respiratory disease | na | na | Quail NOAEL for bodyweight and feed consumption between 10 and 20 PFOS ppm. Mortality in levels higher than 50-150 mg PFOS ppm (Newsted et al., 2007) |
| PAH4: Sum of benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene | By-product of high temperature processes, de-inking paper sludge | Oils and fats (0.2 mg/kg) (GMP, 2018) | na | Chicken embryo median lethal dose was different for different PAH compounds, whereas toxicity was not tested in nonembryonic chickens (Franci et al., 2018) | |
| Parathion | Pest management in pome and stone fruit, citrus, and cotton | Causes cholinesterase inhibition with symptoms ranging from fever to respiratory paralysis and death | na | Not set | Oral mean lethal single dose in quails is 6 mg/kg BW, and a 5-day dietary 238 ppm/day (Hill, 1992) |
| Methyl parathion | na | Not set | Hens injected a single dose of 1 mg/kg/BW subcutaneously became paralyzed 10–14 d after treatment (APVMA, 2011). Mean lethal dose for quails on a 5-day dietary challenge of 69 ppm/day (Hill, 1992) | ||
| Melamine | Melamine is a metabolite of cyromazine, a drug used to control flies in poultry flocks and plant crops. | At high doses melamine causes crystals or stones in the urinary tract with kidney damage | 2.5 (EU, 2017) | No limit | Dietary mean lethal dose > 5,620 ppm for ducks and quails |
Abbreviation: NOAEL, no observed adverse effect level; LOAEL: lowest observed adverse effect level.
1
Maximum recommended values for feedstuff in Australia as revised by MacLachlan et al. (2013). When there was no recommendation in Australia, European Union references were used. na = not available.
2
Maximum limits in Australia according to the FSANZ, 2016a, FSANZ, 2016b. No limit = No Australian standard applicable for the contaminant. The “as low as reasonably achievable” principle applies. Not set = No Australian standard has been set for the chemical in the edible matrix and any detection is a contravention of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. na = not available.