Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Swiss Agriculture (AgroPOP)

• Research unit: FOAG
• Project number: 16.29

Key words (German)

Persistente organische Schadstoffe, POP, PCB, Milchprodukte, Lebensmittelqualität, Nahrungskette, Akkumulationsprozess

Key words (English)

Persistent Organic Pollutants, POP, PCB, dairy products, food quality, food chain, accumulation process

Key words (French)

Polluants organiques persistants, POP, PCB, produits laitiers, qualité des aliments, chaîne alimentaire, processus d'accumulation

Short description (English)

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) are hardly degradable compounds, accumulating in living organisms with long-term toxic effects. Among the POPs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are particularly ubiquitous environmental contaminants. In Switzerland, meat and dairy products contaminated by PCB are frequently detected, particularly on farms with near to nature management. This is not only a sanitation problem, but predominantly leads to a noticeable depreciation of the products and an important mental pressure for the concerned farmers. The project AgroPOP investigates the most important input pathways of PCB into the food chain, such as the uptake of PCB by cattle via feed or soil particles. The project improves our understanding of the accumulation process of PCB and enables to derive recommendations for best agricultural practices for a reduction of the contamination of meat and dairy products by PCB. Thus, AgroPOP contributes to food quality and the good reputation of Swiss farming products, especially with a near-natural production.

Project aims (English)

The main objective of the project AgroPOP consists in improving the food quality, regarding the contamination by PCB. To achieve this objective, the following goals are targeted:

(i) investigate the contamination by PCB of beef and veal meat, cow milk and dairy products, as well as the feed (grass and feed) and the surrounding environment (air, atmospheric deposition, and soil) in selected Swiss farms;

(ii) identify the most important entry pathways of PCB into Swiss farming products;

(iii) understand qualitatively and quantitatively the accumulation process of PCB in cattle;

(iv) derive recommendations for best agricultural practices leading to a reduction of the contamination of meat, milk and farming products by PCB;

(v) contribute to an added value and conservation of the good reputation of Swiss farming products, especially from proper housing farms.