Organochlorine compounds are pesticides used in agriculture, for the control of biological vectors of diseases and of livestock ectoparasites. Their use in Brazil is now prohibited, except for control of biological vectors in epidemics. However, residues of such compounds can still be found in the environment and in foodstuffs. For this reason, the presence of organochlorine compounds in cheese produced in Rio Grande do Sul state (Brazil), as well as the differences in organochlorine levels between homemade and industrialized cheese were evaluated. Fat extraction from samples was made by grinding with anhydrous sodium sulfate followed by petroleum ether washing. Pesticides were extracted from fat through a florisil column eluted with hexane. The extract was used for the chromatographic analyses (electron capture gas chromatography). alpha-HCH, HCB, lindane, aldrin, o,p-DDD, and p,p-DDD were found in 100% of samples; p,p-DDE in 88.9%, and o,p-DDT in 94.4%. o,p-DDD was the pesticide found at the highest concentration (11.5ng g-1 fat) followed by aldrin (8.7ng g-1 fat). The levels of alpha-HCH, aldrin, and total DDT were higher than maximum residue level in 2, 8, and 1 cheese sample, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the levels of organochlorine compounds between homemade and industrialized cheese or among cheese produced in three regions of Rio Grande do Sul.
organochlorine; cheese; contamination
