Differences in absorption of cadmium and lead among fourteen sweet potato cultivars and health risk assessment.

Planting sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) instead of rice in the area contaminated with heavy metals is one of the measures to ensure people's health and agricultural economy. Therefore, it is important to screen the low accumulation cultivars of sweet potato and to find out the concentration rule of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in edible parts along with the associated health risks to humans. A field experiment was performed with fourteen of three main types (starch, purple, and edible-type) of sweet potato cultivars grown on farmland polluted with Cd and Pb in eastern Hunan Province, China. The Cd and Pb concentrations in the sweet potato tissues as well as the yield were measured. The yield of the shoot and tuberous root of the fourteen sweet potato cultivars ranged from 14.59 to 68.57 and 26.35-50.76 t ha-1 with mean values of 33.09 and 33.46 t ha-1, respectively. Compared with purple and edible-type cultivars, the starch-type cultivar had lower Cd and Pb concentrations in the flesh, but higher in the shoot. The Cd and Pb concentrations in the flesh of cultivars Shangshu 19, Sushu 24, Yushu 98, and Xiangshu 98 were lower than MCL provided in Chinese National Food Safety Standards GB2762-2017. Based on the hazard index (HI), the consumption of sweet potato flesh is lower health risk, while shoots pose a greater health risk to local people and Cd is the main cause of the risk. As a result, sweet potato cultivars Shangshu 19, Sushu 24, Yushu 98 and Xiangshu 98 can be plant in serve Cd and Pb contaminated soils with the advantages of easy cultivation, high yield and economic benefits without stopping agricultural production.

Dissipation behavior, residues distribution and dietary risk assessment of tembotrione and its metabolite in maize via QuEChERS using HPLC-MS/MS technique.

The dissipation and residues of tembotrione in corn field application were investigated using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The average recoveries of tembotrione in maize, corncob, and straw were in the ranges of 98-107% with relative standard deviations (RSDs ≤9.3%), respectively. The recoveries of M5 was in the ranges of 90-108% in all three matrices of maize, with RSDs were 3.3-12.8%. The LODs for tembotrione and M5 in maize were 0.85 µg/L and 1.0 µg/L, 0.84 µg/L and 0.43 µg/L in corncob, 0.94 µg/L and 1.5 µg/L in straw, respectively. The LOQs of the method in maize grain, corncob and straw were 0.01, 0.01 and 0.05 mg/kg for both analytes, respectively. The dissipation of tembotrione in straw was in compliance with the first-order dynamic equation, with half-lives of 1.18-1.23 days at Beijing and Heilongjiang. Total residue of tembotrione in maize grain and corncob matrix were both below 0.02 mg/kg, lower than the max residue limit (MRL) recommended by european food safety authority (EFSA). Risk quotients (RQs) of this pesticide was assessed via comparing national estimated daily intake with acceptable daily intake. The dietary intake risk of tembotrione residue in maize was very low for all groups of Chinese residents. These data could provide scientific data and strategies and facilitate Chinese government to establish the MRLs of tembotrione.

Risk assessment of bioaccessible arsenic and cadmium exposure through rice consumption in local residents of the Mae Tao Sub-district, Northwestern Thailand.

Consumption of contaminated rice is a toxin exposure route in Asian populations. Since total concentrations generally overestimate health risks, the objectives of this study were to determine the levels of bioaccessible As and Cd in rice cultivated in the Mae Tao, Tak Province and evaluate their potential health impacts in local adults. In total, 59 locally grown rice samples were analyzed for their total and bioaccessible concentrations. Bioaccessible concentrations were obtained from an in vitro digestion process. Inorganic As concentrations were estimated assuming that 63.2-63.5% of the total As is inorganic As. Rice contained inorganic As (45.2% of white rice and 57.1% of sticky rice) and Cd (51.6% of white rice and 32.1% of sticky rice) levels exceeding the Codex standards. The bioaccessibilities of As (16.3-70.0%) and Cd (Null to 83.7%) in rice varied widely. The concentrations of bioaccessible As, which were 1-1.2 times greater than those of bioaccessible Cd, indicate a higher possibility of As absorption into the human body. Positive significant relationships were found between total and bioaccessible As (R2 = 0.568 for white rice and R2 = 0.704 for sticky rice) and Cd (R2 = 0.874 for white rice and R2 = 0.862 for sticky rice). The hazard quotient (HQ) of inorganic As exposure accounted for approximately 93.4% of hazard index (HI). Approximately 2-6 in 10,000 residents over a lifetime of 75 years could suffer from cancer as a result of daily rice consumption. Therefore, the consumption of the home-grown rice in this study should be limited.

Occurrence and exposure assessment of bisphenol analogues in source water and drinking water in China.

Bisphenol analogues (BPs) are widely used in the production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. In recent years, the demand and production capacity of BPs are growing rapidly in China. However, knowledge on the occurrence of BPs other than bisphenol A (BPA) in the aquatic environment, especially in source and drinking water, is still limited. In this study, occurrence of 16 BPs, which have been used in various industrial applications, was investigated in source and drinking water from twenty drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across China. In source water, BPA, bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS) were detected at the following concentration ranges: BPA (n.d.-34.9 ng/L), BPAF (n.d.-10.8 ng/L), BPB (n.d.-14.3 ng/L), BPE (n.d.-6.2 ng/L), BPF (n.d.-12.6 ng/L), and BPS (n.d.-5.2 ng/L). In drinking water BPA, BPAF, BPB, BPE, BPF, and BPS were detected as follows: BPA (n.d. - 6.5 ng/L), BPAF (n.d.-4.7 ng/L), BPB (n.d.-3.2 ng/L), BPE (n.d.-0.6 ng/L), BPF (n.d.-0.9 ng/L), and BPS (n.d.-1.6 ng/L). In addition, to assess the exposure of BPs through drinking water consumption, the estimated daily intake of each detected BPs was calculated. The estimated daily intake (EDIs) was below 0.25 ng/kg bw/day for each detected BPs, much lower than the tentative oral reference dose (RfD) values for BPA (4 µg/kg bw/day) recommended by the European Food Safety Authority.

An updated weight of evidence approach for deriving a health-based guidance value for 4-nonylphenol.

4-Nonylphenol (NP) is a persistent estrogen-active compound. Human exposure to NP is primarily through water and food. Although risk assessments of NP have been conducted by the European Union and a few other countries, only the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, in 2000, proposed a tolerable daily intake of 0.005 mg kg-1 body weight (bw) day-1 . New data have been accumulated since then, prompting an update on the risk assessment of NP. A weight of evidence approach is recommended for use in scientific assessments by several agencies, e.g., European Food Safety Authority, etc. Based on the results of a weight of evidence approach, two methods were used to derive the health-based guidance value (HBGV) for NP in this study, namely a no observed adverse effects level/lowest observable adverse effect level method, and a benchmark dose method. Considering the considerable uncertainty of benchmark dose model fitting of the available data, a tolerable daily intake value of 0.025 mg kg-1 bw day-1 was derived as a provisional HBGV for NP based on the lowest observable adverse effect level value of 15 mg kg-1 bw day-1 of the renal toxicity in rats, together with the uncertainty factor of 600. However, the HBGV of NP still needs further investigation.

Estimation of daily fish intake values for use with water quality criteria for human health assessments in Korea.

Daily fish intake is a key parameter of water quality criteria for protecting human health. Daily fish intake values should be representative of consumption patterns and must be practical for regulatory purposes. Thus, values must be scientifically verified and regularly updated for inclusion in water quality criteria. In Korea, four different fish intake values have been identified from food balance sheets (KREI 2000), the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) II (Ministry of Health and Welfare 2002), Korean Exposure Factors Handbook (MOE 2007a), and KNHANES IV-V (CDC 2008; 2009; 2010), which have been applied to water quality standards and related national projects and regulations. This paper reviews the estimation methodologies of previous daily fish intake values from multiple sources and improvements in these values between 2000 and 2012. Finally, limitations associated with each value were examined to assist future research and regulatory management. This review provides information on changes in the daily fish intake values and their application in water quality standards in Korea.

Journey from food toxins to food safety: Transition over a century in service of nation.

Since the first report of lathyrism in 1926, the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at Hyderabad, India, has made tremendous contributions in the field of food toxins/food safety for the benefit of the people. The present article highlights the Institute's work on various food toxins/foodborne diseases since its inception and discusses the important contributions made in the context of public health protection that formed the basis for several national policies on their prevention and control. The investigations on food toxins, in the initial decades, were limited to the description of lathyrism and its endemicity. Subsequently, the horizon was broadened to include the problem of mycotoxins and mycotoxicosis, which had received global attention and variety of other disease outbreaks investigations leading to total food safety transition in the forthcoming decades. Important contributions in epidemiological investigations, reproduction of the disease in experimental animals, surveillance and monitoring studies, development of methods for detection of food toxins and contaminants, evolving strategies for prevention and control and developing the concept of risk assessment and risk management for addressing food safety issues in the country are discussed.

Nanomaterials in food contact materials; considerations for risk assessment

Nanotechnology applications in the food industry, including food contact materials, offer many potential benefits for consumers and manufacturers alike. The article discusses the migration of nanoparticles from food contact materials and the possible health risks associated with in the context of insufficient knowledge of the potential exposure to nanomaterial. The importance of gaps in the general knowledge on the behaviour and biological interactions of nanomaterials in biological systems becomes crucial for risk assessment. The article also discussed numerous doubts concerning the measurements of biological reactions in animal tests and the need for new approaches in the interpretation of data from nanoparticles studies in vivo. The article underlines the need to develop predictive and validated toxicological tests that can be used to screen for potential hazards, and also to develop new methodology for measuring nanoparticles in biological matrices to assess human exposure. Further studies should focus on understanding the mechanisms of action. Nanoparticles exhibit chemical and physical properties that significantly differ from those substances at a large size. Different properties of nanoparticles may lead to different toxicological properties. From that reason nanoparticles, in each case, are individually assessed by the European Food Standard Agency (EFSA) in terms of health risk before the European Commission authorizes them to be used in food contact materials.

[Assessment of non-carcinogenic risk for the health of the child population under the consumption of drinking water].

In the article there are given results of the evaluation of non-carcinogenic risks for the health of the child population residing in different areas (districts) of the city of Kazan with the aim of the subsequent comprehensive assessment of the pollutants in drinking water. Assessment of the risk for the human health was performed correspondingly to with the P 2.1.10.1920-04 for oral route of exposure in accordance to the chemical composition of drinking water with account for the standard and regional factors of the exposure. The results of the risk assessment under the consumption of drinking tap water by the child population with localized place of residence permit to reveal areas with a high level of health risk in the city. The screening assessment of carcinogenic risk due to the consumption of chemicals with drinking water revealed differences in regional and standard values of the exposure factors. This affects both on the value of the chronic average daily intake of chemical contaminants in drinking water and the level of risk under the consumption of drinking water by the child population.

[Risk assessment from exposure to chemical contaminants in food].

There was investigated the impact of chemical substances contained in the public health foodstuffs in eight regions of the Republic of Tatarstan on 11 product groups: meat and meat products, fish and fish products, milk and dairy products, bread and bakery products, sugar and confectionery products, vegetables and melons (excluding potatoes), potatoes, fruits and berries, vegetable oil, eggs and egg products, salt. In total there were analyzed more than 240 thousand samples offood raw materials andfood products over the period offrom 2006 to 2014. The study took place on 27 priority chemicals, including thirteen carcinogens (benzo (a) pyrene, DDT, hexachlorobenzene, hexachloran, heptachlor, alpha-lindane, beta-lindane, lindane, cadmium, arsenic, lead, derivatives of 2,4-D acid, cypermethrin). Exposition load is calculated by the 50 (median), and 90 percentiles of the content ofpollutants in food products. There were calculated carcinogenic risks, HQ coefficients and HI indices for chronic non-cancer exposure. High values of the total cancer risk (3.31*10 at the median level of 1.49*10+ at the 90 percentile) are associated with the exposure to tohexachlorane and alpha-lindane seem to be alarming (from 1.73*10 to 9.68*10) with the effect of lindane, cadmium and lead with dominant contribution to the total risk in the use of meat and meat products, milk and dairy products. The warning value of Hazard ratios (HQ 1.1-3) at 90-percentile were shown on nitrate, lead, beta-lindane, high (HQ >3), for DDT and its metabolites, lindane and arsenic, with the dominant contribution to the exposure of vegetables and melons (excluding potatoes), potato, milk and milk products.