Cumulative Dietary Risk Assessment of Benzophenone-Type Photoinitiators from Packaged Foodstuffs

Photoinitiators used in ultraviolet-cured ink may migrate from food packaging materials into food products. Therefore, we conducted a dietary risk assessment of exposure to benzophenone (BP)-type photoinitiators by quantifying and reducing uncertainties associated with the risk characterization. A total of 362 food packaging samples including 180 cereals, 136 fruit and vegetable juices, and 46 milk samples were subjected to fast pesticides extraction to determine photoinitiator residues. The average daily dose (ADD) of BP was the highest in the age group of zero to three years, with a P97.5 ADD of 2.56 × 10−4 mg/kg bw/day. The ADD of 2-hydroxybenzophenone (2-OHBP) was the highest in the age group of three to six years, with a P97.5 UB ADD of 3.52 × 10−5 mg/kg bw/day. The estimated UB P97.5 ADD for each age group was below the toxicological concern threshold of 0.0015 mg/kg bw/day. The cumulative toxicity of all BPs, evaluated using the MOET value, was at an acceptable level. Although the MOET value of BPs was above the safety limit in the foodstuffs studied herein, this result may be different if Taiwan were to follow regulation guidelines for BP-type photoinitiators based on the specific migration limit for the unmeasured BP residues in other foodstuffs.

Potential Human Exposure to Mercury (Hg) in a Chlor-Alkali Plant Impacted Zone: Risk Characterization Using Updated Site Assessment Data

Industrial activities have resulted in severe environmental contamination that may expose rural and urban populations to unacceptable health risks. For example, chlor-alkali plants (CAPs) have historically contributed mercury (Hg) contamination in different environmental compartments. One such site (a burden from the Soviet Union) is located in an industrial complex in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Earlier studies showed the CAP operating in the second half of the twentieth century caused elevated Hg levels in soil, water, air, and biota. However, follow-up studies with thorough risk characterization are missing. The present study aims to provide a detailed risk characterization based on the data from a recent site assessment around the former CAP. The ⅀HI (hazard index) ranged from 9.30 × 10−4 to 0.125 (deterministic method) and from 5.19 × 10−4 to 2.54 × 10−2 (probabilistic method). The results indicate acceptable excess human health risks from exposure to Hg contamination in the region, i.e., exposure to other Hg sources not considered. Air inhalation and soil ingestion pathways contributed to the highest ⅀HI values (up to 99.9% and 92.0%, respectively). The residential exposure scenario (among four) presented the greatest human health risks, with ⅀HI values ranging from 1.23 × 10−2 to 0.125. Although the local urban and rural population is exposed to acceptable risks coming from exposure to Hg-contaminated environmental media, an assessment of contamination directly on the former CAP site on the industrial complex could not be performed due to access prohibition. Furthermore, the risks from ingesting contaminated fish were not covered as methyl-Hg was not targeted. An additional assessment may be needed for the scenarios of exposure of workers on the industrial complex and of the local population consuming fish from contaminated Lake Balkyldak. Studies on the fate and transport of Hg in the contaminated ecosystem are also recommended considering Hg methylation and subsequent bioaccumulation in the food chain.

Mycotoxins occurrence in medicinal herbs dietary supplements and exposure assessment

The multimycotoxin analysis of aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEA), ochratoxin A (OTA), enniatins (ENNs) and beauvericin (BEA) was performed in 85 samples of medicinal herbs dietary supplements. The samples were classified in 64 samples of one herbal ingredient and 21 mixed samples. The extraction was performed by QuEChERS method and the determination by liquid chromatography coupled to ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS-IT). Then, the risk characterization to mycotoxins through the consumption of medicinal herbs dietary supplements was assessed. The results showed that ZEA, OTA, ENNs and BEA showed in the samples with incidences between 1 and 34%, being ENNB the most detected mycotoxin. Mycotoxins contents ranged from LOQ to 3850.5 µg/kg while the mean of positives samples were 65.5 µg/kg (ENNA), 82.7 µg/kg (ENNA1), 88.7 µg/kg (ENNB), 324.9 µg/kg (ENNB1), 137.9 µg/kg (BEA) and 1340.11 µg/kg (ZEA), respectively. OTA was detected in one herbal mix tablet for insomnia at concentration of 799 μg/kg. In herbal drugs the European Pharmacopoeia Commission has implemented limits of 2 µg/kg for AFB1 and 4 µg/kg for total AFs. In the present study AFs have not been detected in the analyzed medicinal herbs dietary supplements. The Estimated Daily Intakes (EDIs) values were calculated using a deterministic method, considering two exposure scenarios (lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB)). The values obtained were in general far below the Tolerable Daily Intakes (TDIs) established. Graphical abstract

Dietary Exposure and Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 for Children Aged 1 to 9 Years Old in Serbia

The present study was conducted to estimate the exposure and risk characterization of the children population of Serbia to Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) from milk and milk-based food. A total of 3404 samples comprising of milk and different milk-based food samples were collected from various regions of Serbia from 2017 to 2019. Evaluation of the AFM1 exposure was carried out using the deterministic method, whereas risk characterization was evaluated with the calculation of the Margin of Exposure (MOE) and the risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Detection rates for AFM1 in milk and milk-based food samples ranged between 2% and 79%, with the highest incidence (79%) and mean level (22.34  0,018 ng kg-1) of AFM1 was detected in pasteurized and UHT milk. According to the three consumption estimates, the values of EDI were higher for toddlers as compared with children. Children aged 1–3 years had the highest risk of exposure to AFM1 in milk, with an estimated daily intake of 0.164 and 0.193 ng kg-1 bw day-1 using a lower bound (LB) and the upper bound (UB) exposure scenarios, respectively. Such difference could result from the higher consumption versus weight. Based on the EDI found in this study, the risk of AFM1 due to consumption of milk and milk-based food was low since MOE values obtained were 10000. In addition, the risk of HCC cases/year/105 individuals of different age groups showed that the value of HCC using potency estimates of 0.0017 (mean) was maximum (0.00034) in the age group 1–3 years which indicates no health risk for the evaluated groups. The present study revealed the importance of controlling and preventing AFM1 contamination in milk through continuous monitoring and regular inspection to reduce the risk of AFM1 exposure, especially in children.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Risk Assessment and Analytical Methods Using QuEchERS Pretreatment for the Evaluation of Herbal Medicine Ingredients in Korea

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds that are often formed during the thermal processing of herbal medicine ingredients. In this study, the concentrations of four PAHs (PAH4) in various herbal medicine ingredients were monitored. Further, the QuEChERS method was used to replace conventional pretreatment, a more complex and cumbersome approach. The recovery range of the QuEChERS method ranged between 89.65–118.59%, and the average detection levels of benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), chrysene (CHR), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), and Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in 50 herbal medicine ingredients were 0.18, 0.27, 1.13, and 0.17 μg/kg, respectively. The BaP and PAH4 levels in all tested samples were deemed safe according to risk characterization analyses based on European Union and Korean guidelines. Therefore, our findings indicated that the QuEChERS method could be used as an effective alternative to conventional sample pretreatment for the analysis of herbal medicine ingredients.

Assessment of the Risk of Heavy Metals Accumulation in Vegetable Crops

Based on the extensive material, approaches to assessing the risk of accumulation of heavy metals in vegetable crops grown in open and protected ground, including hydroponics, are considered. A scheme for performing risk assessment is proposed, including such stages as hazard identification, exposure assessment, the dose-effect estimates, risk characterization, and risk management. For each stage, model approaches to quantifying the risk are presented, and examples of the characteristics of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk in different regions are given when consuming vegetable crops contaminated with HM. It is shown that the risk of accumulation of HM in vegetable crops can be managed with the help of various strains of microorganisms that promote both the immobilization of these metals in the soil and prevent their entry into the marketable part of vegetable products.