Contamination level of mineral oil hydrocarbons in complementary foods and their health impact assessment for infants and young children aged 0­3 years

Abstract

ObjectiveTo study the contamination level of mineral oil hydrocarbons in complementary foods for infants and young children and assess its potential health impact for consumers aged 0­3 years old in China.MethodsThe contents of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons （MOSH） and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons （MOAH） were determined by on­line high­performance liquid chromatography coupled with gas chromatography and flame ionization detector. Based on the food consumption data of Chinese residents in 2015， the exposure to mineral oil hydrocarbons in complementary foods of Chinese infants and young children aged 0­3 years old was assessed by simple distribution method.ResultsThe overall detection rate of MOSH （C16-C35） in 4 types of complementary foods （canned foods， rice flour， noodles， and biscuits or molar sticks） in total of 138 commercially available complementary food samples was 45.65%， and the mean contamination level in different types of complementary foods was in the range of 0.55-4.40 mg/kg. The MOAH was only detected in 1 sample of noodles and 4 samples of biscuits or molar sticks. The overall detection rate of MOAH was 3.62%. The average daily exposure and high food consumption （P95） daily exposure of MOSH （C16­C35） for complementary foods consumer only population were 6.21 and 19.27 μg/kg·BW， respectively. The margins of exposure of all age groups were higher than 100.ConclusionThe health risk from dietary exposure to MOSH by consuming complementary foods is very low for infants and young children aged 0­3 years old in China. Attention should be paid to the contamination of MOAH in complementary foods for infants and young children.

Keywords

• complementary foods for infants and young children
• mineral oil hydrocarbons
• contamination level
• risk assessment