Levels of chlorinated dioxins, dibenzofurans and other chlorinated xenobiotics in food from the Soviet Union and the south of Vietnam

Although levels of dioxins and dibenzofurans in humans from a small number of countries have recently been reported, very few publications exist on the levels of these contaminants in food. Food, especially milk products, meat, and fish, are believed to be the route of entry of most of the dioxins found in humans. There have been only three published studies of dioxins in food from Vietnam; the remaining worldwide dioxin food data comes from a relatively small number of Canadian and German reports. In an attempt to correct this lack of information concerning these highly toxic xenobiotics we report here for the first time PCDD/F levels in food from the Soviet Union and compare these with levels we found in Vietnamese food, reported on a whole weight or lipid basis, and with some newly reported German food data, presented in detail in a separate paper in this volume.