Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, or DLCs, are found throughout the environment, in soil, water, and air. People are exposed to these unintentional environmental contaminants primarily through the food supply, although at low levels, particularly by eating animal fat in meat, dairy products, and fish. While the amount of DLCs in the environment has declined since the late 1970s, the public continues to be concerned about the safety of the food supply and the potential adverse health effects of DLC exposure, especially in groups such as developing fetuses and infants, who are more sensitive to the toxic effects of these compounds.

Numerous health effects have been linked to exposure to DLCs, including skin damage, cancer, non-insulin-dependent diabetes in adults, neurological and immune system impairments in infants, and endocrine system disruption. Many of these effects were identified in individuals who had high levels of exposure. However, information is limited on how low-level DLC exposure through foods, defined as occurring in everyday life, influences the development of cancer and other diseases.

To devise strategies for reducing human exposure to DLCs from the food supply, the National Science and Technology Council’s Interagency Working Group on Dioxin with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies and sponsors, requested the help of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

The resulting report, Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in the Food Supply: Strategies to Decrease Exposure, recommends policy options to reduce exposure to these contaminants while considering how implementing these options could both reduce health risks and affect nutrition, particularly in sensitive and highly exposed groups, if dietary changes are suggested.