Effects of Dressing and Cooking on DDT Concentrations in Certain Fish from Lake Michigan

Abstract

Concentrations of DDT residues were highest in parts of the body with the highest oil content in four species of fish from Lake Michigan: yellow perch (Perca flavescens), bloater (Coregonus hoyi), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Dressing reduced the DDT residues and oil content by more than 90% in yellow perch but had little effect in the other three species. The concentration of DDT residues in bloaters was changed little by smoking but was reduced 64–72% by other methods of cooking: from 8.0 ppm (raw) to 2.2 ppm after frying in corn oil; from 10.7 to 3.9 ppm after frying in lard; and from 9.1 to 3.2 ppm after broiling. The concentration of DDT residues in fillets of yellow perch changed only from 0.3 ppm (raw) to 0.4 or 0.5 ppm after baking, frying, or broiling.