Determination of four perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) in muscle and liver tissues of common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) from two locations in northern Serbia

Ognjen Krnjaja; Aleksandar Bajčić; Branka Borović; Milenko Babić; Damjan Gavrilović; Saša Janković; Aleksandar Popović

doi:10.18485/meattech.2026.67.1.1

Ognjen Krnjaja Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2242-0457
Aleksandar Bajčić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2923-4137
Branka Borović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0371-0991
Milenko Babić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6467-6757
Damjan Gavrilović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3786-496X
Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993
Aleksandar Popović University of Belgrade-Faculty of Chemistry https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0162-9612

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2026.67.1.1

Keywords: PFAS, Biomonitoring, Phasianus colchicus, LC-MS/MS, Game animals, Serbia

Abstract

This study examined and established the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoronona- noic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)) in the muscle and liver tissues of common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) collected from two locations in northern Serbia. Breast muscle and liver samples from twenty-five pheasants were an- alysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Samples were collected during the 2024–2025 hunting season. Higher concentrations of PFAS were detected in liver (40.0% of all examined samples) compared to breast muscle tissue (8.0% of all examined samples). Total PFAS concentrations in pheasant liver ranged from less than the limit of quantification (<LOQ) to 5.774 µg/kg, while only concentrations detected in muscle tissue were 0.123 μg/kg and 0.171 µg/kg. The most commonly found of the four examined compounds was PFOS, which was followed by PFNA. The aim of this research was to determine the levels of four PFAS in game pheasant tissue collected from two locations in Northern Serbia and compare the results with those similar or different game birds from other countries or regions. According to available literature, this is the first study to examine the presence of PFAS in pheasant tissues in Serbia.