Summary and Assessment of Data Received from the FAO/WHO Collaborating Centres for Food Contamination Monitoring

This report contains a summary and assessment of the data received from the FAO/WHO Collaborating Centres for Food Contamination Monitoring in 19 countries during the period 1977 to 1980. The data refer to the levels of certain organochlorine compounds, lead, cadmium, and aflatoxins in samples of individual foods and in food composites representing the whole of the diet, collected during the period 1971-1979. Most of the data have been submitted by developed countries. The levels of the DDT complex in cereals, fruits, vegetables, and vegetable fats and oils reported by developed countries are generally low, in most cases below the limit of detection. In many countries, there is a marked decline in the levels of the DDT complex in foods of animal origin (e.g., milk fat, butter, eggs, and fish) and in human milk, during the period studied.