Interlaboratory Comparison on POPs in Food 2024

The 25th round of the Interlaboratory Comparison on POPs in Food was conducted in 2024
by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). The study included the determination 
of the 2,3,7,8-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), as well as 
dioxin-like non-ortho and mono-ortho chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in three different food 
items. Additionally, the participating laboratories could determine the concentrations of six 
indicator PCBs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes 
(HBCDs) in the same food samples.

This year the fish sample for determination of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) 
was the Mackerel sample, shared for both persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and PFAS, 
designated for the determination of the following poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances 
(PFASs): perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), 
perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) and 
perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA).

The objectives of this interlaboratory comparison study were:

A. To offer a tool for quality assurance to the participating laboratories
B. To assess the between-laboratory reproducibility
C. To assess the readiness of expert laboratories worldwide to determine levels of 
chlorinated and brominated persistent organic pollutants, as well as for PFASs, in 
regular foodstuffs