title: Risk of DDT residue in maize consumed by infants as complementary diet in southwest Ethiopia.
abstract: Infants in Ethiopia are consuming food items such as maize as a complementary diet. However, this may expose infants to toxic contaminants like DDT. Maize samples were collected from the households visited during a consumption survey and from markets in Jimma zone, southwestern Ethiopia. The residues of total DDT and its metabolites were analyzed using the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) method combined with dispersive solid phase extraction cleanup (d-SPE). Deterministic and probabilistic methods of analysis were applied to determine the consumer exposure of infants to total DDT. The results from the exposure assessment were compared with the health based guidance value in this case the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI). All maize samples (n=127) were contaminated by DDT, with a mean concentration of 1.770 mg/kg, which was far above the maximum residue limit (MRL). The mean and 97.5 percentile (P 97.5) estimated daily intake of total DDT for consumers were respectively 0.011 and 0.309 mg/kg bw/day for deterministic and 0.011 and 0.083 mg/kg bw/day for probabilistic exposure assessment. For total infant population (consumers and non-consumers), the 97.5 percentile estimated daily intake were 0.265 and 0.032 mg/kg bw/day from the deterministic and probabilistic exposure assessments, respectively. Health risk estimation revealed that, the mean and 97.5 percentile for consumers, and 97.5 percentile estimated daily intake of total DDT for total population were above the PTDI. Therefore, in Ethiopia, the use of maize as complementary food for infants may pose a health risk due to DDT residue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia. Electronic address: sebleworkmekonen.shegen@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Seblework
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mekonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Nutrition and Child Health Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerpen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lachat
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Argaw
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ambelu
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Steurbaut
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Nutrition and Child Health Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerpen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolsteren
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacxsens
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University, P.O. Box 343, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Mekitie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wondafrash
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Houbraken
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spanoghe
mesh_terms: D003634:DDT / Q000032:analysis*; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D005002:Ethiopia; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D012306:Risk; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D003634:DDT
keywords: DDT residue; Dietary exposure; Food safety; Infants; Risk assessment