J Am Oil Chem Soc (2012) 89:389–400 DOI 10.1007/s11746-011-1926-5 O R I G I N A L P A P E R PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs and Pesticides in Cold-Pressed Vegetable Oils M. Roszko • A. Szterk • K. Szymczyk • B. Waszkiewicz-Robak Received: 19 November 2010 / Revised: 5 August 2011 / Accepted: 5 August 2011 / Published online: 3 September 2011 The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (marker and dioxin-like congeners), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (EPA 15 ? 1), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (14 predominant congeners) and pesticides (74 compounds) in various cold- pressed vegetable oils. Poppy seed oil, rapeseed oil, sesame seed oil, pumpkinseed oil, hempseed oil, linaire oil, borage oil and evening star oil were investigated. Results of this study revealed that concentrations of PCBs, PBDEs and PAHs were low in majority of the investigated samples. However, high concentrations of organophosphorus insec- ticides were found. Chlorpyrifos methyl and pirimiphos methyl were the pesticide residues most commonly found in the studied oils. Concentration of 15 ? 1 EPA PAHs was within the 17.85–37.16 lg kg-1 range, concentration of (marker) PCBs varied from 127 to 24,882 pg g-1, dioxin-like TEQ values were below 0.1 pg TEQ g-1. Concentration of PBDEs was below LOQ in most cases. Keywords Food contamination PAH Pesticides Vegetable oils PCB PBDE M. Roszko (&) K. Szymczyk Department of Food Analysis, Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, Rakowiecka 36, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland e-mail: marek_roszko@sggw.pl M. Roszko Department of Biotechnology, Microbiology and Food Evaluation, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland A. Szterk B. Waszkiewicz-Robak Department of Functional Food and Commodities, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland Abbreviations Ace Acenaphtene Acy Acenapthylene Ant Anthracene B[a]A Benzo(a)anthracene B[a]P Benzo(a)pyrene B[b]F Benzo(b)ﬂuoranthene B[ghi]P Benzo[g,h,i]perylene B[k]F Benzo(k)ﬂuoranthene Chry Chrysenes DB[ah]A Dibenz[a,h]anthracene DMSO Dimethylsulfoxide EPA Environmental protection agency Flua Fluoranthene Fluo Fluorene IndP Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene LDPE Low density polyethylene LOQ Limit of quantiﬁcation Naf Naphtalene PAHs Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon PBDEs Polybrominated diphenyl ether PCB Polychlorinated biphenyl Phe Phenanthrene POPs Persistent organic pollutants Pyr Pyrene TEF 2,3,7,8-TCDD dioxin toxicity facor TEQ 2,3,7,8-TCDD dioxin toxicity equivalency Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and pesticides are regarded as hazardous chemical 123