Dietary exposure assessment of perchlorate and chlorate in infant formulas marketed in Shanghai, China
Shenghao Yu, Yonghui Ge, Lujing Zhang, Yiqi Li, Wen Zhang, Chang Liu, Shaojie Peng
Abstract
Perchlorate and chlorate are ubiquitous pollutants which have the potential to adversely affect the thyroid function of humans. This study assessed the potential health risk of dietary exposure of infants and young children to perchlorate and chlorate through infant formulas in Shanghai. The assessment was based on risk monitoring data from 150 samples of infant formulas in Shanghai between 2020 and 2022, along with dietary consumption data of infants and young children. The detection rates of perchlorate and chlorate in infant formulas were 46.0% and 98.7%, the mean contents were 9.98 μg/kg and 112.01 μg/kg, and the maximum values were 151.00 μg/kg and 1475.00 μg/kg, respectively. The mean and 95th percentile (P95) values of daily perchlorate exposure via infant formulas for infants and young children aged 0-36 months were 0.07 and 0.17 μg/kg bw/day, respectively, which were lower than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of perchlorate (0.3 μg/kg bw/day). The mean and P95 values of chlorate exposure via infant formulas for 0-36 months infants and young children were 0.83 and 1.89 μg/kg bw/day, which were lower than the TDI of chlorate (3 μg/kg bw/day). The P95 exposure of different age groups (0-6 months, 7-12 months and 13-36 months) infants and young children to perchlorate and chlorate through infant formulas were all below the TDI. Therefore, the risk associated with the exposure of infants and young children aged 0-36 months to perchlorate and chlorate from infant formulas in Shanghai was considered acceptable. It is important to prioritize environmental pollution control efforts to reduce the levels of perchlorate and chlorate in food products to safeguard the health of the infants and children under the One Health concept.