Simultaneous Analysis of Mycotoxins, Potentially Toxic Elements, and Pesticides in Rice: A Health Risk Assessment Study
Mohammad Hashem Yousefi,
Esmaeel Abbasi,
Milad Hadidi,
Seyedenayat Hashemi,
Amir Hossein Ghadimi,
Saeed Yousefinejad,
Hossein Arfaeinia,
Abbas Yousefinejad,
Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski,
Agnieszka Tomkowiak,
Saeid Hosseinzadeh,
Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
Affiliations
Mohammad Hashem Yousefi
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84471, Iran
Esmaeel Abbasi
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84471, Iran
Milad Hadidi
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Seyedenayat Hashemi
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr 75146-33341, Iran
Amir Hossein Ghadimi
Department of Food Science and Technology, Yasooj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yasooj 75914-93686, Iran
Saeed Yousefinejad
Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348-14336, Iran
Hossein Arfaeinia
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr 75146-33341, Iran
Abbas Yousefinejad
Department of Nutrition, Sarvestan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sarvestan 73541-94579, Iran
Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski
Department of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 31 Wojska Polskiego St., 60-624 Poznan, Poland
Agnieszka Tomkowiak
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 11 Dojazd St., 60-632 Poznan, Poland
Saeid Hosseinzadeh
Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84471, Iran
Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology—State Research Institute, 36 Rakowiecka St., 02-532 Warsaw, Poland
Rice is a widely consumed food worldwide; however, it can be a source of pollutants, such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs), mycotoxins, and pesticides. Sixty rice samples imported from Pakistan (PAK), India (IND), and Thailand (THAI), as well as domestic Iranian (IRN) rice, were collected from Bushehr, Iran, and investigated for the contamination of PTEs, including arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni); pesticides, including chlorpyrifos, trichlorfon, diazinon, fenitrothion, and chlorothalonil; mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), and deoxynivalenol (DON); and molds. Estimated daily intake (EDI) and hazard quotient (HQ) of pollutants and hazard index (HI) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of rice types for the Iranian adult population were calculated. The content of PTEs in Iranian rice was not higher than Iran’s national standard limits. In contrast, other types of rice (imported) had at least one PTE above the permissible level. OTA content was below the detection limit, and all other mycotoxins were within the allowable range in all rice types. Thai rice was the only group without pesticides. The HI order of rice types was as follows: HIPAK = 2.1 > HIIND = 1.86 > HIIRN = 1.01 > HITHAI = 0.98. As was the biggest contributor to the HI of Iranian and Thai rice, and diazinon in the HI of Pakistani and Indian rice. The calculation of ILCR confirmed that the concentrations of Ni and Pb in Pakistani and Ni and As in Indian, Thai, and Iranian rice were not acceptable in terms of lifetime carcinogenic health risks.
