Simultaneous Analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) in Animal Fat by GC-ECD and GC-MS

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are important classes of contaminants due to their high persistence in the environment and to their tendency to accumulate on soil, plants, and animals and to propagate in the trophic level of the food chain. This chapter describes the analytical procedure to determine OCPs and PCBs in bovine fat, which was also tested and validated in adipose tissues of poultry, swine, and equine. The analyses were performed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and mass spectrometric detection (MS).