A total diet study to estimate PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs intake from food in Taiwan.
Concentrations of 17 dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) were measured in total diet study samples of 14 food groups of animal origin from 11 locations in Taiwan, collected in 2003. Pork meat possessed the lowest background concentration level of 0.058 pg WHO-TEQ(PCDD/Fs+dl-PCBs)/g fresh weight. The dl-PCBs contribution were 31%, 59%, 36%, 46%, and 13% for meat and meat products, muscle meat of fish, milk and dairy products, fat and oil, and egg, respectively. The estimated monthly intake (EMI) was 44.7 and 39.5 pg WHO-TEQ(PCDD/Fs+dl-PCBs)/kg b.w./month for a male and female adult weighing 64.8 kg and 56.3 kg, respectively. Muscle meat of fish contributes 46% to the mean EMI. Factors affecting the EMI, in order of increasing importance are analytical method uncertainty, sample compositional difference, and food consumption data. In addition to the continuous efforts to identify and reduce the source of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs releases into the environment and the food-chain, the practice of a healthy dietary habit, i.e., eating foods of lower TEQ levels, was suggested to effectively reduce human exposure to PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs.
Hsu
Ming-Sheng
MS
Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
Hsu
Kuang-Yi
KY
Wang
Shih-Min
SM
Chou
Ukai
U
Chen
Shih-Yun
SY
Huang
Nai-Chun
NC
Liao
Chia-Yi
CY
Yu
Tsae-Pyng
TP
Ling
Yong-Chien
YC
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000032:analysis; D004032:Diet; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products / Q000032:analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors
D001572:Benzofurans; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; C023614:dibenzofuran; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls