Organochlorine pesticide residues in cow’s milk, honey, and poultry eggs in Algiers, Algeria, and associated health risk

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticide residues were determined in 180 animal-derived food samples (cow’s milk, honey, and poultry eggs) from three zones in Algiers (Rouiba, Zeralda, and Beraki) to evaluate their chronic non-carcinogenic health risks. Method validation using GC-MS demonstrated high precision and linearity (R2 > 0.995), satisfactory recovery rates (76.9–91.4%) and LOQs of 0.001–0.009 µg/kg. Analysis revealed a pronounced geographic profile, positioning Beraki as a major environmental hotspot, with mean levels up to 15.18 µg/kg for endrin in milk, 11.44 µg/kg for γ-BHC in honey, and 39.46 µg/kg for γ-BHC in eggs. While dietary intake from Rouiba and Zeralda proved to be toxicologically safe, the cumulative hazard indices (HIs) for infants consuming Beraki-sourced milk (HI = 1.19) and honey (HI = 1.55) exceeded the threshold of 1. Conversely, poultry egg consumption was considered to be safe across all regions (HI < 1). These findings highlight a localised public health concern for the local population in Beraki.