Appendix D Food Codes for NHANES - OEHHA

SRP Review Draft Version 2 June, 2012
can be substantially greater than the magnitude of bioaccumulation via exposure to
water. For such chemicals, only true BAFs adequately assess accumulation of the
chemical in fish tissues. For many of these persistent organic chemicals,
biomagnification can occur. Biomagnification is the process through which chemical
concentrations in fish increase as the chemical moves up the food chain, essentially
through food sources. This process occurs because there are fewer organisms feeding
off of more organisms at each level in the food chain, thus concentrating the chemical
contaminants.
Numerous variables can affect uptake of persistent organic chemicals and inorganic
metals in fish, therefore literature sources that reflected potential chemical accumulation
as might occur under the “Hot Spots” program were our primary focus. That is,
BCF/BAFs were primarily based on the edible portion (i.e., muscle tissue) of freshwater
sport fish common to California lentic environments. Lentic environments consist
mainly of standing water bodies including lakes, reservoirs and ponds. Sport fish that
are caught and consumed in California are predominantly in trophic levels 3 and 4.
These fish are typically of highest economic value and include predatory and
carnivorous fish that feed on lower trophic level animals. BAF values for trophic level 2
organisms (e.g., zooplankton and larval fish stages) and non-sport fish, such as
mosquito fish and the fathead minnow, were not considered unless there was a lack of
accumulation data for higher trophic level sport fish.
The muscle tissue is defined here as the edible tissue of fish, although some ethnic
groups may also eat various organs of fish. OEHHA’s California fish advisories
recommend against eating the liver and other organs of fish, because they may have
higher concentrations of organic contaminants than the muscle tissue (OEHHA, 2003).
In addition, most inorganic metals will also concentrate in the organs, particularly the
kidney and liver. Thus, the BAFs derived in this document cannot be used for
estimating accumulation of chemicals in organs other than muscle tissue, as doing so
could seriously underestimate the dose received by consuming fish organs and tissues
other than muscle.
In California, common freshwater sport fish caught for consumption include various
species of trout, catfish, bass, perch, sunfish and carp (CDFG, 2007). Mean muscle
lipid content and trophic level data for some sport-fish are shown in Table I-2. In
general, the size of the sport fish should be representative of the size being consumed
by the target human population. Thus, the mean values are based on fish sizes that are
caught and consumed by anglers. As Table I-2 shows, both muscle lipid content and
trophic level can increase with increasing length (and age) of the fish. In some
instances, lipid content or trophic level based on fish length, in cm, is provided.
I-4