Dietary Exposure Risk Research Articles

Residual levels and dietary exposure risk assessment of banned pesticides in fruits and vegetables from Chinese market based on long-term nontargeted screening by HPLC-Q-TOF/MS

The negative impact of banned pesticides is of special importance for their high toxicity. In this study, nationwide screening of banned pesticides in 37462 fruit and vegetable samples was carried out from 2012 to 2018 using a self-developed HPLC-Q-TOF/MS technique. The dietary exposure risks associated with the banned pesticides were assessed. The results showed that 66.62 % of the samples were detected at least one pesticide. Among the pesticide-positive samples, a total of 18 banned pesticides were detected in 1798 samples for 1896 times. The risk assessment revealed that 11.71 % of the positive detections exceeded the safety limits and posed an unacceptable risk, while 37.29 % of the positive detections posed acceptable risks. According to the screening and assessment results, two national maps were presented to show the total detection ratios of the banned pesticides and the unacceptable risks of dietary exposure. It should be noted that omethoate had higher residual concentration, unacceptable risk frequency and unacceptable risk proportion. This is the first nationwide comprehensive report on screening and risk assessment banned pesticides.

Concentration and potential health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for consumers of chocolate in Brazil

Chocolate is widely consumed worldwide and its market grows every year, with emerging demands for new high-quality products. However, this product is susceptible to contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), representing a risk for humans. In this study, a methodology for the evaluation of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and chrysene in chocolate by high performance liquid chromatography was validated. The occurrence, dietary exposure, and health risks of 4 PAHs in 38 commercial chocolate samples was investigated. The methodology demonstrated adequate accuracy and precision, with recovery (95.25 %–108.12 %) and relative standard deviation (0.14 %–5.83 %). Benzo[a]pyrene and the ∑4 PAHs concentrations varied between 1.09 and 10.42 µg/kg and 8.38–41.58 µg/kg, respectively. The results of risk assessment suggest low potential health risk for chocolate consumers, considering the margin of exposure (MOE) and the incremental life cancer risk (ILCR) values.

Mycotoxins in Wheat Flours Marketed in Shanghai, China: Occurrence and Dietary Risk Assessment.

The risk of exposure to mycotoxins through the consumption of wheat flours has long been a concern. A total of 299 wheat flours marketed in Shanghai Province of China were surveyed and analyzed for the co-occurrence of 13 mycotoxins through an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method. The detection rates of mycotoxins in wheat flours ranged from 0.7~74.9% and their average contamination levels in wheat flours (0.2~57.6 µg kg-1) were almost lower than the existing regulations in cereals. However, their co-contamination rate was as high as 98.1%, especially Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins. Comparative analysis of different types of wheat flours showed that the average contamination levels in refined wheat flours with low-gluten were lower. Based on these contamination data and the existing consumption data of Shanghai residents, point evaluation and the Monte Carlo assessment model were used to preliminarily evaluate the potential dietary exposure risk. The probable daily intakes of almost all mycotoxins, except for alternariol, were under the health-based guidance values for 90% of different consumer groups. Health risks of dietary exposure to alternariol should be a concern and further studied in conjunction with an internal exposure assessment.

Residue behavior and risk assessment of pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole in peppers under different growing conditions.

This study evaluates the residue behavior and risks of pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole in peppers. An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of the concentration of these fungicides in peppers was developed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Pepper samples were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned with primary secondary amine and graphitized carbon black. The average recoveries of pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole under three fortification levels were 86.7-101.4% and 81.7-104.4%, with relative standard deviations of 4.0-7.2% and 3.8-10.9%, respectively. The limit of quantification of both fungicides in peppers was 0.01mg/kg. The terminal residue trial of 30% pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole suspension concentrate was investigated for samples cultivated in open fields and greenhouses. The results showed that the terminal residues of pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole in peppers were lower than the maximum residue limits established by GB 2763-2021 (0.5mg/kg for pyraclostrobin and 2mg/kg for tebuconazole). The results of a statistical t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between samples grown in open fields and greenhouses. According to the international estimate of short-term intake (IESTI) calculation model, provided by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues, the acute dietary exposure risk of both fungicides in peppers was acceptable for the general population, with an IESTI of 0-3% and 0-5% of the acute reference dose for pyraclostrobin and tebuconazole, respectively.

Different dissipation potential and dietary risk assessment of tristyrylphenol ethoxylates in cowpea ecosystem in China.

Tristyrylphenol ethoxylates (TSPEOn) are widely used as inert ingredients in pesticide formulations in the world. However, the information on the dissipation behavior of different homologs TSPEOn in agro-products is lacking. To investigate the dissipation behavior of TSPEOn, a cowpea field experiment treated with TSPEOn at different doses was carried out in Guangdong province, China. Different 24 TSPEO homologs were all detected in cowpea from the field terminal residue experiments, and the total concentrations of TSPEO homologs in cowpea were 40.0-1,374 μg/kg. The dissipation half-lives of 24 TSPEO homologs in soil were 1.51-2.35 times longer than those in cowpea. The long-chain homologs TSPEOn were dissipated faster than the short-chain homologs TSPEOn, suggesting a homolog-specific degradation of the TSPEOn in the cowpea ecosystem. The characteristic bimodal profiles of TSPEOn (n = 6-29) differing from that of the commercial TSPEOn were observed in the cowpea terminal residues experiment, indicating that the long-chain TSPEOn would degrade to short-chain TSPEOn in cowpea and soil. The acute and chronic dietary exposure risks of ΣTSPEOn in cowpea are within acceptable margins for human consumption across different ages and genders. But the health risks to children should be noticed in future.

Cumulative Risk Assessment of Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues in Brown Rice (Oryza sativa L.) from the Three Main Rice-Growing Regions in China during 2016–2020

The residual levels of 25 monitored pesticides in 6,229 brown rice samples obtained from the 17 provinces of the three main rice-growing regions in China during 2016–2020 were analyzed, and the cumulative risks of chronic and acute exposure to pesticides for the Chinese population were assessed. The QuEChERS extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of 25 pesticide residues in brown rice was developed and validated with good accuracy and precision (recoveries of 70%–120% and RSD ≤20%). The overall detection rate and over the maximum residue limit (MRL) rate of pesticides in brown rice decreased from 39.15% and 3.59% in 2016 to 34.11% and 1.53% in 2020, respectively. The Yangtze River basin had a higher detection rate and over MRL rate (43.14% and 2.88%, respectively) compared with the Southeast Coastal region (37.28% and 2.77%) and the Northeast Plain (11.28% and 0.17%). Isoprothiolane (13.57%) and carbendazim (8.32%) were the most frequently detected in rice samples. Pesticide residues exceeding the MRLs were found most often in triazophos (0.75%) and isocarbophos (0.51%). The risk ranking of pesticide residues based on the ranking matrix showed that carbofuran, methamidophos, and isocarbophos had the highest residual risk scores of 25.09, 25.01, and 25.00, respectively. 17.7% of rice samples contained two or more pesticide residues. The cumulative risk assessments based on the relative potency factor (RPF) approach revealed that the cumulative risks of chronic and acute dietary exposure to organophosphorus, neonicotinoid insecticides, and triazole fungicides from rice ranged from 7.43 × 10−4 to 3.36 × 10−2, which were not considered of health concern. The study provides national-scale information on the contamination levels and health risks of pesticide residues in rice, which can help develop continuous monitoring programs for pesticide residue contamination in rice in China.

Dietary exposure to acrylamide and breast cancer risk: results from the NutriNet-Santé cohort

Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer but epidemiologic evidence on the carcinogenicity of acrylamide from dietary sources is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between dietary acrylamide and breast cancer risk in the NutriNet-Santé cohort, accounting for menopausal and hormone receptor status. This prospective cohort study included 80,597 French females (mean±SD age at baseline: 40.8±14 y) during a mean±SD follow-up of 8.8±2.3 y. Acrylamide intake was evaluated using repeated 24-h dietary records (n±SD=5.5±3.0), linked to a comprehensive food composition database. Associations between acrylamide intake and breast cancer risk (overall, premenopausal, and postmenopausal) were assessed by Cox hazard models adjusted for known risk factors (sociodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, medical history, and nutritional factors). The mean±SD dietary acrylamide intake was 30.1±21.9 µg/d (main contributors: coffee, potato fries and chips, pastries, cakes, bread). During follow-up, 1016 first incident breast cancer cases were diagnosed (431 premenopausal, 585 postmenopausal). A borderline significant positive association was observed between dietary acrylamide exposure and breast cancer risk overall (HR for quartile 4 compared with 1: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.47) and a positive association was observed with premenopausal cancer (HRQ4vs.Q1: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.88). Restricted cubic spline analyses suggested evidence for nonlinearity of these associations, with higher HRs for intermediate (quartile 2) and high (quartile 4) exposures. Receptor-specific analyses revealed positive associations with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (total and premenopausal). Acrylamide intake was not associated with postmenopausal breast cancer. Results from this large prospective cohort study suggest a positive association between dietary acrylamide and breast cancer risk, especially in premenopausal females, and provide new insights that support continued mitigation strategies to reduce the content of acrylamide in food.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03335644.

Assessment of cause-specific mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) induced by exposure to inorganic arsenic through drinking water and foodstuffs in Iran

The health risk and burden of disease induced by exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) through drinking water and foodstuffs in Iran were assessed. The iAs levels in drinking water and foodstuffs (15 food groups) in the country were determined through systematic review of three international databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) and meta-analysis. Based on the results of the systematic review and meta-analysis, the average iAs levels in drinking water and all the food groups at the national level were lower than the maximum permissible levels. The total average non-carcinogenic risk of dietary exposure to iAs in terms of hazard index (HI) was 3.4. The average incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of dietary exposure to iAs were determined to be 1.5 × 10−3 for skin cancer, 1.0 × 10−3 for lung cancer, and 4.0 × 10−4 for bladder cancer. Over two-thirds of the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk of dietary exposure to iAs was attributed to bread and cereals, drinking water, and rice. The total annual cancer incidence, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), death rate, and DALY rate (per 100,000 people) were assessed to be 3347 (95 % uncertainty interval: 1791 to 5999), 1302 (697 to 2336), 72,606 (38,833 to 130,228), 1.6 (0.87 to 2.9), and 91 (49 to 160). The contribution of mortality in the attributable burden of disease was 95.1 %. The contributions of the causes in the attributable burden of disease were 72 % for lung cancer, 16 % for bladder cancer, and 12 % for skin cancer. Due to the significant attributable burden of disease, national and subnational action plans consisting of multi-disciplinary approaches for risk management of dietary exposure to iAs, especially for the higher arsenic-affected areas and high-risk population groups in the country are recommended.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in Fruits and Vegetables Grown in Turkey: Quantitative Analysis, Dietary Exposure, and Health Risk Assessment

The quantitative analysis, dietary exposure, and health risks of four European Union (4EU) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4) were investigated in different varieties of vegetables in Turkey. PAH congeners were analyzed by an in house validated HPLC method. Low amounts of PAHs were detected in all examined vegetables. The leafy vegetables showed higher contamination among all types of vegetables. The sum of PAH4 (benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, and benzo[b]fluoranthene) levels of leafy vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower were determined as 0.77 and 0.59 μg/kg, respectively. The peels were found to be more contaminated than the cores in root and fruit vegetables. Among the root vegetables, maximum PAH4 concentration was found 0.73 μg/kg in potato peel. The highest level of individual PAH in all vegetables examined was Benz[a]anthracene (BaA), and its value was 0.38 ± 0.16 μg/kg in cauliflower. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), the most representative of the carcinogenic PAHs, was most commonly detected in all samples. Benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF) and chrysene (CHR) showed relatively lower levels in all studied samples. Human dietary exposure to PAH by consumption of the fruits and vegetables was determined considering the estimated daily intake. The study revealed that the estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk indicates a low health risk for children and adult consumers. The present paper is the first attempt concerning quantitative analysis and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fruits and vegetables grown in Turkey.

Fast Detection of Cadmium in Chocolate by Solid Sampling Electrothermal Vaporization Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and Its Application on Dietary Exposure Risk Assessment.

In this work, a rapid detection method using solid sampling electrothermal vaporization atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-ETV-AAS) was established for cadmium in chocolate. The instrumental system includes a solid sampling ETV unit, a catalytic pyrolysis furnace, an AAS detector, and a gas supply system with only an air pump and a hydrogen generator. Herein, MgO material with 1.0–1.5 mm particle size was first employed to replace the kaolin filler previously used to further shorten the peak width and to thereby improve the sensitivity. With 350 mL/min of air, a chocolate sample was heated for 25 s from 435 to 464 °C to remove water and organic matrices; then, after supplying 240 mL/min hydrogen and turning down air to 120 mL/min, a N2/H2 mixture gas was formed to accelerate Cd vaporization from chocolate residue under 465 to 765 °C. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit (LOD) was obviously lowered to 70 pg/g (vs. previous 150 pg/g) with R2 > 0.999; the relative standard deviations (RSD) of repeated measurements for real chocolate samples ranged from 1.5% to 6.4%, indicating a favorable precision; and the Cd recoveries were in the range of 93–107%, proving a satisfied accuracy. Thus, the total analysis time is less than 3 min without the sample digestion process. Thereafter, 78 chocolate samples with different brands from 9 producing countries in China market were collected and measured by this proposed method. Based on the measured Cd concentrations, a dietary exposure assessment was performed for Chinese residents, and the target hazard quotient (THQ) values are all less than 1, proving no significant health risk from intaking chocolate cadmium for Chinese residents.

Investigation and dietary exposure risk assessments of 3 PFASs and 2 Cl-PFESA in fresh vegetables planted in the vicinity of typical fluorine chemical industry parks located in Guangdong province

Investigation and dietary exposure risk assessments of 3 PFASs and 2 Cl-PFESA in fresh vegetables planted in the vicinity of typical fluorine chemical industry parks located in Guangdong province

Simultaneous Detection of Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxins in Industrial and Traditional Red and isot Pepper Flakes along with Dietary Exposure Risk Assessment.

This study focused on the co-occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in traditionally and industrially dried red pepper flakes (DRPFs) and isot pepper flakes (IPFs). Following the multitoxin immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) was used to quantify AFs and OTA. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were 0.11 and 0.18 μg kg–1 (AFB1), 0.04 and 0.08 μg kg–1 (AFB2), 0.13 and 0.18 μg kg–1 (AFG1), 0.04 and 0.11 μg kg–1 (AFG2), and 0.10 and 0.21 μg kg–1 (OTA), respectively. AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and OTA were found to be positive in 93, 74, 17, and 94% of all samples, respectively. The contamination levels in positive samples ranged from 0.23 to 38.69, 0.04 to 2.14, 0.13 to 0.88, and 0.18 to 52.19 μg kg–1 for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and OTA, respectively, while no AFG2 was found above the detection limit (0.04 μg kg–1). None of the industrial isot peppers exceeded the European Union limits, while the levels of AFB1 (5 μg kg–1), total AFs (10 μg kg–1), and OTA (20 μg kg–1) of the traditional peppers were above the limit by 30% (16/54), 26% (14/54), and 4% (2/54), respectively. Co-occurrence of AFB1-AFB2-OTA was the most frequent, accounting for 54% (29/54) of all samples. At the upper bound (UB), estimated average exposure to AFB1, total AFs, and OTA was determined to be 0.175, 0.189, and 0.124 ng kg–1 bw day–1 in all samples, respectively. The margin of exposure (MoE) value of AFB1 and total AFs was found to be 977 and 909, indicating high health concerns compared to OTA (MoE >10,000). AFB1 and total AFs may result in 0.0058 and 0.0062 liver cancer cases/100,000 person/year at UB, respectively, and weekly OTA exposure was 0.868 ng kg–1 bw, well below the provisional tolerable weekly intake, hence not of health concern. AFs exposure could endanger health, whereas OTA posed no toxicological concerns through dried red pepper consumption

Risk assessment of mercury through dietary exposure in China

Mercury (Hg) is a widespread heavy metal causing various damages to health, while insufficient studies assessed its exposure risk across China. This study explored concentrations in food items and dietary exposure risks across China by comprehensively analyzing the researches on total Hg (THg) in eight food items and methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic foods published between 1980 and 2021. According to the included 695 studies, the average THg concentration in all food items was 0.033 mg/kg (ranging from 0.004 to 0.185 mg/kg), with the highest concentration in edible fungi. The average daily dietary THg exposure from all foods was 12.9 μg/day. Plant-based foods accounted for 62.7% of the dietary THg exposure. Cereals and vegetables were the primary source of THg exposure. The MeHg concentration in aquatic foods was 0.08 mg/kg, and the average dietary exposure was 3.8 μg/day. Monte Carlo simulations of the dietary exposure risk assessment of THg and MeHg showed that approximately 6.4 and 7.0% of residents exceeded the health-based guidance value set by the European Food Safety Authority, with higher exposure risk in Southwest and South China. The nationwide target hazard quotient index of THg was greater than 1, suggesting that the non-carcinogenic risk of dietary exposure to THg needed further concern. In summary, this study has a comprehensive understanding of dietary Hg exposure risks across China, which provide a data basis for Hg exposure risk assessment and policy formulation.

Study on dietary intake, risk assessment, and molecular toxicity mechanism of benzo[α]pyrene in college students in China Bashu area.

As an extremely strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogen, benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) is often produced during food processing at high temperatures. Recently, food safety, as well as toxicity mechanism and risk assessment of BaP, has received extensive attention. We first constructed the database of BaP pollution concentration in Chinese daily food with over 104 data items; collected dietary intake data using online survey; then assessed dietary exposure risk; and finally revealed the possible toxicity mechanism through four comparative molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The statistical results showed that the concentration of BaP in olive oil was the highest, followed by that in fried meat products. The margins of exposure and incremental lifetime cancer risk both indicated that the dietary exposure to BaP of the participants was generally safe, but there were still some people with certain carcinogenic risks. Specifically, the health risk of the core district population was higher than that of the noncore district in Bashu area, and the female postgraduate group was higher than the male group with bachelor degree or below. From MD trajectories, BaP binding does not affect the global motion of individual nucleic acid sequences, but local weak noncovalent interactions changed greatly; it also weakens molecular interactions of nucleic acid with Bacillus stearothermophilus DNA polymerase I large fragment (BF), and significantly changes the cavity structure of recognition interface. This work not only reveals the possible toxicity mechanism of BaP, but also provides theoretical guidance for the subsequent optimization of food safety standards and reference of rational diet.

Dissipation behavior and dietary exposure risk of pesticides in Brussels sprout evaluated using LC–MS/MS

In this study, the dissipation behavior and dietary exposure risk of eight pesticides in Brussels sprout were evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Brussels sprout samples were collected 0, 7, 14, and 21 days after the last pesticide treatment. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used for sample analysis. Recovery rates at different concentrations of pesticides (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg) were in the range of 70.2–104.5%, and the relative standard deviations were ≤ 10.6%. The pesticide residues in Brussels sprouts were determined for each treatment. For acephate, etofenprox, imidacloprid, indoxacarb, alpha-cypermethrin, zeta-cypermethrin, fludioxonil, and oxytetracycline, the half-lives were, respectively, 11.3, 9.8, 11.3, 15.8, 10.6, 13, 9.1, and 8.2 d and the dietary intake rates were, respectively, 2.90%, 0.81%, 0.7%, 1.19%, 0.06%, 0.24%, 0.05%, and 0.36% of the acceptable daily intake. The findings of this study provide important insights into the establishment of maximum residue limits in the Republic of Korea and pesticide control measures for Brussels sprout.

Incorporating Tenax into the in vitro method to improve the predictive capability of bioaccessibility of triazole fungicides in grape

In vitro bioaccessibility assays have been developed for high-throughput prediction of relative bioavailability (RBA). However, methods to reliably and efficiently assess pesticide residues remain limited, hindering the precise estimation of pesticide exposure risk. The inclusion of a sorption sink material to simulate intestinal sorption could be a promising approach to optimize in vitro bioaccessibility methods. The current study aimed to explore the feasibility of incorporating Tenax into the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) method for accurate evaluation of the bioaccessibility of triazole fungicides. The use of 1.0 g of Tenax enabled the valid trapping of triazole fungicides released from grape, resulting in a significant increase of 23.59–38.51 % in the value of bioaccessibility. A strong in vivo–in vitro correlation was observed between pesticide RBA and bioaccessibility, suggesting that the Tenax-assisted RIVM method is a suitable replacement for time-consuming and laborious in vivo alternatives. In addition, the exposure assessment indicated that the hazard quotients for triazole fungicides in grape may be overestimated by 5.79–27.34 % without considering bioaccessibility based on the Tenax-assisted RIVM method. These results provide further insights into the assessment of bioaccessibility-based human exposure to pesticides as well as dietary exposure and related risk for human health.

Dietary Exposure and Health Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 in Dairy Products Consumed by Population of North Macedonia

Background: Aflatoxins (AFs), as secondary metabolites, are mainly produced by fungi of Aspergillus genus. The determination of contamination rate, dietary exposure, and health risk assessment for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was conducted aimed to estimate potential health risks for the population of North Macedonia.
 Methods: A total of 974 dairy samples, including 404 Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk, 291 ice cream, 178 yogurt, and 101 cheese were collected from the markets in North Macedonia. Analysis of AFM1 was done using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection.
 Results: The AFM1 incidence was highest in yogurt samples (93.8%) and lowest in UHT milk samples (67.8%). AFM1 concentrations were 49.1±68.4, 30.9±30.0, 35.1±40.4, and 40.1±90.1 ng/kg for UHT milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese samples, respectively. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) for the average population and high consumers (upper bound; samples with AFM1<Limit of Detection (LOD) were 0.150 and 0.456 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day, respectively. The Hazard Index (HI), Margin of Exposure (MoE), and the fraction of Hepatocarcinoma (HCC) cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the average population reached values of 0.33, 8533, and 0.004, respectively.
 Conclusion: To our best knowledge, this is the first report of dietary exposure and risk assessment of AFM1 in dairy products of North Macedonia, revealing a potential risk of AFM1 in population of this country.

Association between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) dietary exposure and mortality risk in the E3N cohort

Most studies have explored the adverse health effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) occupational exposure. However, the general population is also exposed to PAH, mainly through the diet. The goal of the present study is thus to investigate the association between PAH dietary exposure and mortality risk in middle-aged women of the E3N (Étude Épidémiologique auprès de femmes de la mutuelle générale de l'Éducation Nationale) French prospective cohort.The study included 72,513 women, whom completed a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire on 208 food items in 1993. Food contamination levels were assessed using data provided by the Anses (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) in the framework of the French second total diet study. PAH dietary exposure was studied as the sum of four PAH (PAH4), namely benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), chrysene (CHR), benzo[a]anthracene (BaA) and benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and their 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the risk of all-cause mortality as well as all-cancer, specific cancer (separately from breast, lung/tracheal, and colorectal cancer), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and specific CVD (including only stroke and coronary heart disease) mortality.During follow-up (1993–2011), 4620 validated deaths were reported, of which 2726 due to cancer and 584 to CVD. The median PAH4 dietary intake was 66.1 ng/day. There was no significant association between PAH4 dietary intake and the risk of all-cause, all-cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, all-CVD and stroke and coronary heart disease mortality. On the contrary, we observed a positive and statistically significant association between PAH4 dietary intake and lung/tracheal cancer mortality risk, with a stronger association among current smokers than among former smokers and never smokers.In this study, we observed an association between PAH dietary exposure and lung/tracheal cancer mortality risk, especially among current smokers.

Prediction and Health Risk Assessment of Copper, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, and Nickel in Tieguanyin Tea: A Case Study from Fujian, China.

Heavy metal is widespread in food and the environment due to multiple origins, raising concerns over their persistent potential health risks. Contamination of multiple heavy metals in tea leaves is frequently reported. However, the dietary exposure risk that heavy metals in Tieguanyin tea (a famous type of oolong tea,) pose to different subpopulations has not been explored. In this study, contaminations of five heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, and Ni) of concern in Tieguanyin tea were monitored, then the related health risk was assessed for six different subpopulations based on tea brewing experiments and a previous consumption survey. Results show that the mean levels found were as follows: 8.18 mg/kg (Cu), 0.84 mg/kg (Pb), 0.51 mg/kg (Cr), 0.04 mg/kg (Cd), and 1.90 mg/kg (Ni), respectively, and their transfer rates during tea brewing varied within 10.2–70.4%. All estimated daily intakes of individual targeted elements via Tieguanying tea consumption were far below their corresponding tolerable limits. The adjusted hazard index value ranged from 1.1 × 10−2 to 1.7 × 10−2, indicating that exposure to these five elements via drinking Tieguanyin tea would not pose significant non-cancer risks for six subpopulations under the current consumption habit. In addition, the carcinogenic risks associated with heavy metals (Pb, Cd, and Cr) were acceptable because no total cancer risk values exceeded the 10−4 threshold. However, in order to improve consumer protection, we still suggest that considerable attention should be paid to Pb, Ni, and Cd because of their high concentration in infusion, high extraction rate, and major carcinogenic risk contribution, respectively.

Hexabromocyclododecane in edible aquatic products in Guangzhou, China: Levels, compositions, human dietary exposure and health risk assessment

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is widely found in nature and accumulates in living organisms. To investigate the characteristics of ∑HBCD in aquatic products in Guangzhou, China, a total of 319 aquatic products were collected, the concentrations of ∑HBCD in their bodies were analyzed, and estimated daily intake (EDI) and hazard index (HI) were evaluated. The median concentrations of ∑HBCD in Grass carp (2.00 ng/g lw (lipid weight)), Crucian carp (2.34 ng/g lw), Tilapia (1.57 ng/g lw), Japanese sea perch (2.27 ng/g lw), Crab (4.14 ng/g lw), Undulating Venus (6.98 ng/g lw), Roche Spermatogenesis (1.74 ng/g lw) were in medium levels compare with other researches. A significant positive correlation was observed between ∑HBCD concentrations and lipid content of aquatic organisms, and α-HBCD is the main isomer in organisms. The highest concentration of ∑HBCD were found in samples collected in Huangpu district, which was related to a large number of industrial parks gathered in the administrative region. The EDI of HBCD in aquatic products (0.23–1.65 ng/kg bw*d−1) were at a medium level. The HI of HBCDs in aquatic products in Guangzhou was less than 1, indicating that it poses no threat to human health.