title: Occurrence of selected perfluorinated alkyl acids in lunch meals served at school canteens in Italy and their relevance for children's intake.
abstract: Ready-to-eat servings may be more contaminated with perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) than the corresponding unprocessed foods due to the presence of PFAAs in and transfer from food contact materials (FCM) and cookware. Therefore, the presence of selected PFAAs in meals served weekly at lunch time in six Italian school canteens was assessed. Five towns were selected representing different areas with local water and food supply. Daily lunch menus were sampled and pooled to form a composite. Analyses were carried out on the weekly composite from each canteen. UPLC-MS/MS quantification limits were in the 6.0-12 pg g⁻¹ range for the selected PFAAs (PFHxA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFHxS, branched and non-branched PFOS). Non-branched PFOS was quantified in four out of six composites, with levels ranging from 14 to 25 pg g⁻¹, while PFOA and PFDA were determined in two out of six in the range 6.5-8.2 pg g⁻¹. Theoretical estimates and analytical results in the same order of magnitude indicate a negligible contribution from food processing and serving to meal contamination. When composite analytical data are transposed into dietary estimates, it is shown that Italian school-age children have intakes in the range of 0.3-1.1 and 0.5-1.4 ng kg⁻¹ bw day⁻¹ for PFOA and PFOS respectively, well below the corresponding tolerable daily intakes (TDIs).
authors.affiliation: a Toxicological Chemistry Unit , National Institute for Health , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dellatte
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.forename: Stefania Paola
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: De Filippis
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: di Domenico
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pulkrabova
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eschauzier
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klenow
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heinemeyer
authors.forename: Pim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Voogt
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D000478:Alkylation; D002210:Caprylates / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D005506:Food Contamination; D005522:Food Services; D055951:Functional Food / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D062409:Lunch; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012574:Schools; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D002210:Caprylates; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C023036:perfluorooctanoic acid; C076994:perfluorooctane sulfonic acid