Application of human health risk indices in assessing contamination from chemical elements in food samples
Sérgio L.C. Ferreira, Vı́ctor Cerdà, Francisco A.S. Cunha, Valfredo Azevedo Lemos, Leonardo S.G. Teixeira, Walter Nei Lopes dos Santos, Joselanio D.J. Coutinho, Icaro S. de A. Porto, Rafael F. de Jesus
Abstract
In recent years, human health risk indices in the toxicological assessment of foods have been widely used, considering that they can establish reports with analytical and legal security when well applied. These indices are classified as singles and integrated, being that the singles are Estimated Weekly Intakes (EWI), Estimated Daily Intakes (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Maximum Safe Consuming Quantity (MSCQ), and Target Carcinogenic Risk (TCR). The integrated indices are Hazard Index (HI)-THQ and Hazard Index (HI)-TCR, which come from the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Target Carcinogenic Risk (TCR) indices, respectively. In a didactic way, these indices are presented using works reported in the literature involving plant, animal, and industrial food matrices.