A simple apparatus for administering 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin to commercially available pelletized fish food

A simple apparatus for loading chemicals onto commercially available, pelletized fish food is described. An analysis of several food nutrients indicated the procedure using n ‐hexane (50 ml n ‐hexane:200 g food) had an inconsequential influence on their concentrations, i.e., only lauric acid and margaroleic acid exhibited reductions ≥ 10%, 25%, and 17%, respectively. Of 35 batches of food laden with 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin (TCDD), only 40% of the loadings were within 10% of the desired value. However, in terms of the within‐batch variability, all loadings exhibited a coefficient of variation (CV) ≤15%, and over 60% of the loadings exhibited a CV ≤10%.