Perfluorinated compounds in milk, milk powder and yoghurt purchased from markets in China

Abstract

The exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) through the diet for humans is of great concern. Among the diet, dairy products are in great demand. This paper reports the study on the levels of 9 perfluorinated acids and 2 fluorotelomer acids in milk, milk powder and yoghurt purchased from Chinese markets from 2008 to 2009. The analytes were quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). In milk samples, perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were detected frequently, both in 68% of samples. In milk powder samples, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and PFNA were the only detected PFCs and none of them was observed in more than 35% of samples. In yoghurt, PFOA was the most frequently detected compound, found in 69% of samples. None of fluorotelomer acids was observed in any samples. The mean concentrations of total PFCs were 178 pg/g (wet weight) in milk, 98 pg/g (dry weight) in milk powder and 42 pg/g in yoghurt (wet weight). It is notable that the data of this study indicate significant differences (P<0.001) among three kinds of packaging of milk in the concentration of total PFCs. A preliminary human health risk assessment of milk and dairy products consumption was conducted in this study. For adults, the mean daily intake of PFOS and total PFCs was equal to or lower than 23 and 167 pg kg−1 d−1 (body weight), respectively.