Exposure assessment of deoxynivalenol in wheat and its products among residents in different regions of China

Abstract

To assess the exposure and health risks of deoxynivalenol(DON) ingested by wheat and its products by residents in China's northern and southern regions. We collected DON content data in wheat and its products from various provinces and cities in China by searching the literature. The food consumption data came from the food consumption survey of Chinese residents in 2015. The point assessment method and the probability assessment method were used to evaluate the exposure of residents of various age groups in the southern and northern regions through wheat and its products. Then the acute reference dose(ARfD) 8 μg/(kg·BW) and provisional maximum tolerated daily intake(PMTDI) 1 μg/(kg·BW·d) of DON were used as a reference value to assess the acute and chronic health risks of DON exposure in each population. The mean content of DON in wheat and its products in the south was 578.51 μg/kg, and in the north was 214.98 μg/kg, both of which were lower than the limit value(1000 μg/kg). The result of point assessment showed that 99% of residents do not have acute poisoning risk when ingesting DON through wheat and its products. In the south, the DON exposure in all age groups was higher than PMTDI at the 90 th percentile consumption level of wheat and its products. In the north, the DON exposure in all age groups was higher than PMTDI at the 75 th percentile consumption level. The result of the probability assessment showed that in the south, the proportion of people with DON exposure exceeding PMTDI in the age groups ≤6 years old, 7-12 years old, 13-17 years old, and ≥18 years old was 13.57%, 10.75%, 9.68% and 9.48%, respectively. In the north, the proportion was 22.05%, 21.67%, 17.69% and 14.41%, respectively. The exposure of DON to wheat and its products and the proportion of people exceeding PMTDI in the northern area was significantly higher than that in the southern area(P<0.001). The exposure to DON and the proportion of people exceeding PMTDI of the low-age group(≤6 years old) was higher than that of the high-age group(P<0.001). Exposure to DON from wheat and its products among the high consumers in China was considerably high, with a certain chronic health risk, especially the low-age residents in northern areas, which should be paid attention to.