Réduction de l'ingestion de sol des animaux d'élevage pour limiter leur exposition à la chlordécone

International audience ; The West Indian consumer is mainly exposed to chlordecone (CLD) through the ingestion of contaminated food. Concerning livestock, in some Caribbean systems, animals ingest variable amounts of soil, the main reservoir of CLD in the environment. Thus, it is essential to reduce its ingestion by animals to an incompressible minimum to limit their exposure to CLD in contaminated areas. Different studies, mainly conducted in the Caribbean, allow us to quantify the ingestion of soil by different livestock and their variation factors. Their synthesis shows a minimum soil intake of 2 g/kg metabolic weight (MW) in growing cattle and 11 g/kg MW in Creole pigs. In poultry, the minimum daily values can be estimated at 0.5 and 3 g/kg MP for chicken and hen respectively. These values should be incorporated into risk assessments to calculate animal exposure via the concentration of CLD in the plot soil.However, these minimums can rapidly increase as husbandry conditions deteriorate. In ruminants, forage supply, i.e., ground cover by vegetation, is a good indicator of increased risk of soil ingestion. Short grass cover encourages animals to graze close to the ground, increasing soil ingestion. Very wet conditions or heavy trampling by the animals also favors grass soiling and soil ingestion can be as high as 5 g/kg PM in growing cattle. In pigs, daily soil intakes can exceed 25 g/kg dw, especially in Large White animals whose high growth potential probably encourages them to explore the soil more [2]. Finally, in poultry, poor range conditions (bare ground, feed deficiency) can lead to soil intakes of up to 3 and even 16 g/kg BW respectively in chickens and laying hens. The risk of soil ingestion under unfavorable conditions is therefore more sensitive in the hen unless the chicken is raised for a long time. In addition to managing the quality of the vegetation cover on the grazed area, it is not recommended for all animals to dispose of feed on the ground or to water them with surface water that may ...