Dietary exposure of the Belgian population to emulsifiers E481 (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) and E482 (calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate).

A dietary exposure assessment of food emulsifiers E481 (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) and E482 (calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate) in the Belgian population was performed. Nationally representative food consumption data from the Belgian National Food Consumption Surveys 2004 (BNFCS2004) and 2014 (BNFCS2014) were used for calculations. A conservative approach (combining individual food consumption data with the maximum permitted level (MPL) of foods (tier 2), was compared with more refined estimates (combining individual food consumption data with actual concentrations measured in food products available on the Belgian market (tier 3)). Estimated daily intakes were compared to the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of the stearoyl-2-lactylates. The results of tier 2 demonstrated that 92% of the children (3-9 years), 53% of the adolescents (10-17 years), 15% of the adults (18-64 years) and 26% of the elderly (64-98 years) had a potential intake higher than the ADI. When replacing the MPL with maximum analysed concentration levels in foods, daily intake estimates decreased dramatically. The estimated daily intake of the food emulsifiers was below the ADI for all age groups, except for a small percentage of children (1.9%) for which the intake exceeded the ADI. The main contributors to the exposure of E481 and E482 were bread, rolls and fine bakery wares.

Assessment of mycotoxin exposure in the Belgian population using biomarkers: aim, design and methods of the BIOMYCO study.

Mycotoxins are harmful food contaminants. Currently, human exposure assessment to these toxins is often based on calculations combining mycotoxin occurrence data in food with population data on food consumption. Because of limitations inherent to that approach, biomarkers have been proposed as a suitable alternative whereby a more accurate assessment of exposure at the individual level can be performed. The BIOMYCO study is designed to assess human mycotoxin exposure using urinary biomarkers of exposure. Over the different seasons of 2013 and 2014, morning urine is gathered in a representative part of the Belgian population according to a designed study protocol, whereby 140 children (3-12 years old) and 278 adults (19-65 years old) are selected based on random cluster sampling stratified for sex, age and geographical areas. Every participant completes a food frequency questionnaire to assess the consumption of relevant foodstuffs (n = 43) of both the day before the urine collection and the previous month. Validated multi-toxin LC-MS/MS methods are used to analyse aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, zearalenone and their metabolites in morning urine. The study protocol is approved by the ethical committee of the Ghent University Hospital. Within this paper, study design and methods are described. The BIOMYCO study is the first study whereby a multi-toxin approach is applied for mycotoxin exposure assessment in adults and children on a large scale. Moreover, it is the first study that will describe the exposure to an elaborated set of mycotoxins in the Belgian population. In first instance, descriptive analysis will be performed, describing the exposure to mycotoxins for the child and adult group. Exposure of different subgroups will be compared. Furthermore, correlations between the mycotoxin concentrations measured and the food consumption reported will be estimated to explore whether the mycotoxin exposure could be explained by the consumption of certain foods.

Phthalates dietary exposure and food sources for Belgian preschool children and adults.

Numerous studies have indicated that for phthalates, the intake of contaminated foods is the most important exposure pathway for the general population. Up to now, data on dietary phthalate intake are scarce and - to the authors' knowledge - not available for the Belgian population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was: (1) to assess the long-term intake of the Belgian population for eight phthalates considering different exposure scenarios (benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP); di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP); dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP); di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); diethyl phthalate (DEP); diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP); dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP)); (2) to evaluate the intake of BBP, DnBP, DEP and DEHP against tolerable daily intake (TDI) values; and (3) to assess the contribution of the different food groups to the phthalate intake. The intake assessment was performed using two Belgian food consumption databases, one with consumption data of preschool children (2.5 to 6.5 years old) and another of adults (≥15 years old), combined with a database of phthalate concentrations measured in over 550 food products sold on the Belgian market. Phthalate intake was calculated using the 'Monte Carlo Risk Assessment' programme (MCRA 7.0). The intake of DEHP was the highest, followed by DiBP. The intake of BBP, DnBP and DEP was far below the TDI for both children and adults. However, for DEHP, the 99th percentile of the intake distribution of preschoolers in the worst case exposure scenario was equal to 80% of the TDI, respectively. This is not negligible, since other exposure routes of DEHP exist for children as well (e.g. mouthing of toys). Bread was the most important contributor to the DEHP intake and this may deserve further exploration, since the origin of this phthalate in bread remains unclear.

Food sources and correlates of sodium and potassium intakes in Flemish pre-school children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate dietary sources of Na and K intakes among Flemish pre-school children using multiple linear regression analyses. DESIGN: Three-day estimated diet records were used to assess dietary intakes. The contribution to Na and K intakes of fifty-seven food groups was computed by summing the amount provided by the food group for all individuals divided by the total intake for all individuals. SETTING: A random cluster sampling design at the level of schools, stratified by province and age, was used. SUBJECTS: A representative sample of 696 Flemish pre-school children aged 2·5-6·5 years was recruited. RESULTS: Mean Na intake was above and mean K intake was largely below the recommendation for children. Bread (22 %) and soup (13 %) were main contributors to Na intake followed by cold meat cuts and other meat products (12 % and 11 %, respectively). Sugared milk drinks, fried potatoes, milk and fruit juices were the main K sources (13 %, 12 %, 11 % and 11 %, respectively). Although Na and K intakes were positively correlated, several food categories showed Na:K intake ratio well above one (water, cheeses, soup, butter/margarine, fast foods and light beverages) whereas others presented a ratio well below one (oil & fat, fruits & juices, potatoes, vegetables and hot beverages). CONCLUSIONS: Flemish pre-school children had too high Na and too low K intakes. The finding that main dietary sources of Na and K are clearly different indicates the feasibility of simultaneously decreasing Na and increasing K intake among children.

Reproducibility and relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire designed for assessing the intake of dioxin-like contaminants.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility and relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed to estimate the intake of dioxin-like contaminants. METHOD: In total, 180 adults (50-65 years) completed the FFQ twice and 157 of them kept four times a 2-day estimated dietary record (EDR) spread over a year. RESULTS: Spearman rank correlation coefficients varied between 0.58 and 0.67 for reproducibility, versus between 0.28 and 0.46 for validity for the different food groups under study. Exact agreement within quartiles was between 34% and 39%, only between 3% and 9% was grossly misclassified. The weighed kappa statistics indicated fair agreement between the two methods (0.29 for the total diet). The correction factors used had a relevant influence on the absolute estimated intake. CONCLUSION: The FFQ presented here is a valuable tool for ranking individuals in the study population on the basis of estimated intake of dioxin-like contaminants. However, absolute intakes should be estimated without correction factors and interpreted with caution.