Short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in commercial complementary baby food produced in different European countries: Occurrence, congener group profiles, portion-based dietary intake, and risk assessment

Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the presence of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) in complementary baby food from different European countries, to assess portion-based dietary intake of CPs, and to characterize possible risks to children arising from CPs uptake. In total, 86 baby food samples from 22 countries were grouped into eight food-type categories considering the WHO classification. In six out of eight sample categories, predominance of medium-chain CPs (MCCPs) concentrations over short-chain CPs (SCCPs) was observed and, contrary to expectations, samples that contained ingredients of animal origin (e.g., meat or fish) did not display elevated CPs levels. The median ∑CPs concentrations for selected sample categories ranged from 0.8 ng g−1 for desert to 2.8 ng g−1 found in dry cereal and porridge subgroups, while the highest CPs concentration of 387 ng g−1 was observed in dry porridge. Among the selected groups of baby foods, portion-based intake of ∑CPs varied from 1.0 to 43.6 ng kg−1 body weight (b.w.) while exposure estimations indicated that portion-based dietary exposure through consumption of complementary baby food was the highest for infants aged 3–12 months due to the lower body weight. The risk characterization according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approach showed that the margin of exposure (MOE) figures higher than the critical value for ∑CPs, indicating that the dietary exposures through consumption of complementary baby food are unlikely to be of significant health concern for children. However, it should be pointed out that the performed risk assessment covered only SCCPs and MCCPs, while the occurrence of other groups from CPs and CPs related compounds (e.g., very short-chain CPs, chlorinated alkenes, or long-chain CPs (LCCPs)) was not addressed.