Cooking methods effectively alter perfluoroalkyl substances and nutrients in cultured and wild bullfrogs

Bioaccumulation and sources of typical emerging pollutants via farming activities: Insight from risk assessment and mitigation

Emerging contaminants are increasingly and ubiquitously found in both aquatic and terrestrial farms. However, their sources poorly understood, which results in limited capacity to manage and control the ecological and human health risks. The targeted pollutants such as hormones, antibiotics, and phenols were analyzed in farming water, surrounding rivers, feed, biota and feces in the present study. In farming water, the phenols were more prevalent contaminants in aquatic farms, whereas antibiotics were predominant in terrestrial farms, which was partially attributable to the distribution of targeted pollutants in used feed. Notably, the sewage treatment system of terrestrial farms effectively reduced hormones (removal rate: 98.38%) and antibiotics (removal rate: 91.98%), but showed poorly in removing phenols, with their concentrations actually increasing by 37%. This raised significant concerns, as phenols from treated wastewater into rivers posed a threat to aquatic organisms such as fish and daphnia. Moreover, daily pollutant exposure was higher for females than for males, with the highest exposure resulting from the consumption of Penaeus vannamei. The higher exposure to emerging contaminants among females aged 18-29, the critical reproductive phase, warrants special attention due to the potential risks to both their maternal health and fetal development. Overall, this study can propose guidance for all stakeholders to control emerging pollutant emissions from farming and ensure food safety, which is the crucial element for managing the ecological environment and preventing risks.

Low-salt diets and salt-free cooking help reduce exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

BACKGROUND

The ubiquity of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in various consumer and industrial products poses a significant public health challenge, but effective strategies to reduce human exposure to PFAS are limited.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the association between dietary patterns, specifically low-salt diets and salt-free cooking, and serum PFAS levels in the general population.

METHODS

The study analyzed data from 11,137 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) using weighted linear regression. We assessed associations between low-salt or low-sodium dietary patterns and the way salt was used during cooking or food preparation and serum levels of five highly detectable PFAS compounds: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). Since consuming fish and shellfish is a major source of PFAS exposure in humans, the intake status of these foods was adjusted for in the sensitivity analysis. Additionally, other sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching, were conducted.

RESULTS

The analyses showed a significant negative association between low-salt or low-sodium diet and serum levels of the five PFAS compounds. In contrast, regular use of salt in cooking or food preparation was significantly and positively associated with higher serum levels of PFAS. These findings were consistent across all models. Also consistent were the results of sensitivity analyses based on participants' consumption of fish and shellfish and propensity score matching.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-salt or low-sodium dietary patterns, and salt-free cooking may be are associated with a reduced risk of PFAS exposure in the general population. While this study offers new insights into mitigating PFAS exposure, further validation in additional datasets is necessary, along with confirmation through intervention studies designed based on this hypothesis.

Identification of novel Tet(X6)-Tet(X2) recombinant variant in Elizabethkingia meningoseptica from a bullfrog farm and downstream river in China

Introduction

The dissemination of strains producing tetracyclines monooxygenase Tet(X) from breeding farms to the natural environment poses a potential threat to public health.

Methods

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and WGS were performed to identify resistance phenotypes and genotypes. Cloning experiments, sequence alignment, and homology modeling were used to characterize the function and formation mechanisms of the recombinant variant. The mobilization potential of Tet(X) was assessed by collinearity analysis, conjugation experiments, and phylogenetic analysis.

Results

Three tet(X)-producing Elizabethkingia meningoseptica strains were isolated from bullfrog breeding ponds, the sewage outlet, and downstream river in Zhejiang Province, China. These strains carry a novel Tet(X) variant, differing from Tet(X6) by seven residues, and possess the ability to degrade tetracyclines. Interestingly, the novel Tet(X) is a recombinant variant formed by homologous recombination of Tet(X6) and the C-terminal of Tet(X2). Further analysis revealed that Tet(X6) formed several Tet(X) variants, including Tet(X5), through homologous recombination. The novel tet(X) gene is located on a circularizable integrative and conjugative element (ICEEmeChn3), with ISwz1 participating in the recombination of its multi-drug resistance region, potentially facilitating the mobilization and recombination of tet(X) in early hosts. These three strains were clonally transmitted and shared a close genetic relationship (SNP < 62) with a clinically-sourced strain isolated from the same province.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first report of homologous recombination between Tet(X) variants with differing activities. These clonal strains provide evidence of the transmission of tet(X)-positive strains from aquaculture sewage to the natural environment, highlighting the need to strengthen the monitoring and management of this emerging farming model.

Environmental occurrence, bioaccumulation and human risks of emerging fluoroalkylether substances: Insight into security of alternatives

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely used due to their unique structure and excellent performance, while also posing threats on ecosystem, especially long-chain perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). As the control of conventional PFASs, fluoroalkylether substances (ether-PFASs) as alternatives are constantly emerging. Subsequently, the three representative ether-PFASs, chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid (F-53B), hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), and 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoicacid (ADONA) are discovered and have received more attention in the environment and ecosystem. But their security is now also being challenged. This review systematically assesses their security from six dimensions including environmental occurrence in water, soil and atmosphere, as well as bioaccumulation and risk in plants, animals and humans. High substitution level is observed for F-53B, whether in environment or living things. Like PFOS or even more extreme, F-53B exhibits high biomagnification ability, transmission efficiency from maternal to infant, and various biological toxicity effects. HFPO-DA still has a relatively low substitution level for PFOA, but its use has emerged in Europe. Although it is less detected in human bodies and has a higher metabolic rate than PFOA, the strong migration ability of HFPO-DA in plants may pose dietary safety concerns for humans. Research on ADONA is limited, and currently, it is detected in Germany frequently while remaining at trace levels globally. Evidently, F-53B has shown increasing risk both in occurrence and toxicity compared to PFOS, and HFPO-DA is relatively safe based on available data. There are still knowledge gaps on security of alternatives that need to be addressed.

Bioaccumulation and risk mitigation of legacy and novel perfluoroalkyl substances in seafood: Insights from trophic transfer and cooking method

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have widespread application in industrial and civil areas due to their unique physical and chemical properties. With the increasingly stringent regulations of legacy PFAS, various novel alternatives have been developed and applied to meet the market demand. Legacy and novel PFAS pose potential threats to the ecological safety of coastal areas, however, little is known about their accumulation and transfer mechanism, especially after cooking treatment. This study investigated the biomagnification and trophic transfer characteristics of PFAS in seafood from the South China Sea, and assessed their health risks after cooking. Fifteen target PFAS were all detected in the samples, of which perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was dominant with concentrations ranging from 0.76 to 4.12 ng/g ww. Trophic magnification factors (TMFs) > 1 were observed for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid (F-53B), indicating that these compounds experienced trophic magnification in the food web. The effects of different cooking styles on PFAS occurrence were further explored and the results suggested that ΣPFAS concentrations increased in most organisms after baking, while ΣPFAS amounts decreased basically after boiling and frying. Generally, there is a low health risk of exposure to PFAS when cooked seafood is consumed. This work provided quantitative evidence that cooking methods altered PFAS in seafood. Further, suggestions to mitigate the health risks of consuming PFAS-contaminated seafood were provided.