An analysis of cumulative risks for 6 kinds of metal elements released from stainless-steel products intended to contact with food using the Maximum Cumulative Ratio

Abstract

Maximum Cumulative Ratio (MCR) is a primary approach for the quantitative measurement of cumulative toxicity distinctions among individuals. In this study, the MCR approach was first employed to evaluate the cumulative risk of metals in stainless-steel food contact products. The mean MCR was 1.87, which implied that the risk of 46.5% of individuals would be neglected by the chemical-by-chemical method. Further analysis found that cumulative exposure was a potential concern for 7.3% of the individuals. HI and MCR values had a negative correlation (p < 0.001), suggesting individuals with high cumulative exposure tended to be exposed to a particular metal at a high dose. Three pairs of metal combinations were identified that may pose cumulative risks, namely Pb and Co, Mn and Co, and Pb and Fe. It is recommended that further cumulative risk assessment be conducted to examine whether the cumulative risks of these metals could be of concern.