Relationship of dietary intake to DDE residues in breast milk of nursing mothers in Beirut

Milk samples were collected from 32 nursing mothers living in the Beirut ar ea, Lebanon. Dietary intakes of participating mothers were obtained from da ta of their diet histories, 24 h dietary recalls and food frequency questio nnaires. Milk samples were screened for the presence of organochlorine pest icide residues and DDE levels were estimated using gas chromatographic tech niques. The relationship between consumption of various food groups and DDE content of milk was investigated. A positive correlation was found between the consumption of either/or high fat meat, tuna fish and DDE levels in mi lk. Consumption of poultry products showed a weak correlation with DDE cont ent of milk, whereas consumption of vegetable oils showed a negative correl ation.