Jean-Charles Leblanc

Dietary exposure estimates of 18 elements from the 1st French Total Diet Study.

To estimate the dietary exposure of the main minerals and trace elements from retail food typically consumed by the French population, samples were purchased and then prepared and cooked prior to analysis. A total of 1080 individual food composites samples were collected and analysed for 18 elements (arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminium, mercury, antimony, chrome, calcium, manganese, magnesium, nickel, copper, zinc, lithium, sodium, molybdenum, cobalt and selenium). Intakes were calculated from different food consumption patterns found in France for average and high consumers among adults and children. Dietary exposures of those consumers estimated from the France 2000 Total Diet Study (FTDS) are reported, and compared with existing nutritional reference values (Lowest threshold Intake, LTI) or toxicological reference values (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake, PTWI or Upper Level, UL) of the respective element and from previous French studies. This study confirms for the populations concerned, the low probability of nutritional or health risks due to food consumption.

Estimated dietary exposure to principal food mycotoxins from The First French Total Diet Study

This study reports estimates on dietary exposure from the first French Total Diet Study (FTDS) and compares these estimates with both existing tolerable daily intakes for these toxins and the intakes calculated during previous French studies. To estimate the dietary exposure of the French population to the principal mycotoxins in the French diet (as consumed), 456 composite samples were prepared from 2280 individual samples and analysed for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins and patulin. Average and high percentile intakes were calculated taking account of different eating patterns for adults, children and vegetarians. The results showed that contaminant levels observed in the foods examined ‘as consumed’ complied fully with current European legislation. However, particular attention needs to be paid to the exposure of specific population groups, such as children and vegans/macrobiotics, who could be exposed to certain mycotoxins in quantities that exceed the tolerable or weekly daily intake levels. This observation is particularly relevant with respect to ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. For these mycotoxins, cereals and cereal products were the main contributors to high exposure.

Determination of several elements in duplicate meals from catering establishments using closed vessel microwave digestion with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection: estimation of daily dietary intake

An estimation of the dietary exposure of French consumers to 21 essential and non-essential mineral elements using duplicate meals (breakfast and lunch) purchased from catering establishments was investigated after digestion by a closed vessel microwave procedure and quantification by ICP-MS. Daily dietary exposure estimates for metals and minerals were compared with the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes (PTWI), the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) or the Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADI), as established by the FAO/WHO to estimate the risk of toxicity, and the US Recommended Daily Allowances (US RDA) or the Estimate Safe & Adequate Daily Dietary Intakes (ESADDI). Moreover, comparisons were made with those from previous French studies as well as those from other countries. The estimated mean daily intakes were 11 μg for lithium, 3.42 g for sodium, 192 mg for magnesium, 2.03 mg for aluminium, 3.64 g for potassium, 642 mg for calcium, 154 μg for chromium, 12.3 mg for iron, 2.15 mg for manganese, 4 μg for cobalt, 74 μg for nickel, 925 μg for copper, 10.2 mg for zinc, 147 μg for arsenic, 66 μg for selenium, 112 μg for molybdenum, 3.6 μg for cadmium, 2.32 mg for tin, 3 μg for antimony, 9 μg for mercury and 34 μg for lead. For the non-essential (toxic) elements, aluminium, tin, antimony, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead, the daily intake estimates were far below tolerable limits; and similar or somewhat lower than their respective PTWI, ADI, TDI, ESADDI and US RDA for individual minerals and essential trace elements, with good agreement with other country studies. The performance of the multi-elemental ICP-MS technique was also evaluated.

Application of the Margin of Exposure (MoE) approach to substances in food that are genotoxic and carcinogenic: EXAMPLE: Acrylamide (CAS No. 79-06-1)

Acrylamide (CH(2)CHCONH(2), CAS Registry No. 79-06-1) is an industrial chemical used since the 1950s as a chemical intermediate in the production of polyacrylamides, which are used as flocculants for clarifying drinking-water and other industrial applications. The neurotoxicity of acrylamide in humans is well known from occupational and accidental exposures. In addition, experimental studies with acrylamide in animals have shown reproductive, genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Acrylamide may be formed when foods, particularly those that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, are subjected to high temperatures during cooking or other thermal processing.

Core food of the French food supply: second Total Diet Study

As first described in the 1980s, the core food intake model allows a precise assessment of dietary nutrient intake and dietary exposure to contaminants insofar as it reflects the eating habits of a target population and covers the most important foods in terms of consumption, selected nutrient and contaminant contribution. This model has been used to set up the sampling strategy of the second French Total Diet Study (TDS) with the aim of obtaining a realistic panorama of nutrient intakes and contaminant exposure for the whole population, useful for quantitative risk assessment. Data on consumption trends and eating habits from the second French individual food consumption survey (INCA2) as well as data from a 2004 purchase panel of French households (SECODIP) were used to identify the core foods to be sampled. A total of 116 core foods on a national scale and 70 core foods on a regional scale were selected according to (1) the consumption data for adults and children, (2) their consumer rates, and (3) their high contribution to exposure to one or more contaminants of interest. Foods were collected in eight French regions (36 cities) and prepared ‘as consumed’ to be analysed for their nutritional composition and contamination levels. A total of 20 280 different food products were purchased to make up the 1352 composite samples of core foods to be analysed for additives, environmental contaminants, pesticide residues, trace elements and minerals, mycotoxins and acrylamide. The establishment of such a sampling plan is essential for effective, high-quality monitoring of dietary exposure from a public health point of view.

Dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs: Occurrence in food and dietary intake in France

PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs contamination data in food products consumed in France collected from national monitoring programmes (2001–04) and representing analytical results for almost 800 individual food samples were combined with food consumption data from the French national dietary survey to estimate PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs dietary intakes, expressed as toxic equivalents (WHO-TEQs). The mean PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs intakes were estimated as 1.8 and 2.8 pg WHO-TEQ kg−1 b.w. day−1, respectively, for adults (aged 15 years and over) and children (aged 3–14 years). The main contributors to total intake were fish and milk products for both children and adults (48 and 31% for adults and 34 and 43% for children, respectively). DL-PCBs constituted the largest contributor to contamination in most foodstuffs. A life-long intake estimate showed that a non-negligible part of the French population (between 20 and 28%) had an intake above the tolerable monthly intake for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs of 70 pg WHO-TEQ kg−1 b.w. month−1.

Methylmercury exposure assessment using dietary and biomarker data among frequent seafood consumers in France CALIPSO study.

BACKGROUND Seafood is considered by toxicologists as the main source of methylmercury (MeHg), but little data is available concerning contamination of seafood and MeHg status of French frequent consumers. OBJECTIVES The objectives were to assess food exposure and biomarker of exposure of MeHg from a group of frequent consumers of seafood. METHODS Two approaches to exposure assessment were used: the currently used food intake and the biomarker of exposure. A validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess seafood consumptions for 80 products of 385 frequent consumers aged 18 and over in four French coastal areas. Seafood samples were collected in each region considering preservation methods and supply habits according to a total diet study sampling. Food samples were analyzed for MeHg. Exposure was assessed by combining consumptions with contamination data. Whole blood samples were collected from the volunteers and analyzed for MeHg. RESULTS The mean dietary exposure to MeHg or weekly intake (WI FFQ) was 1.51+/-1.17 microg/kg bw/wk. Thirty-five percent of the subjects exceed the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), whereas the use of the biological results with the JECFA/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) one-compartment pharmacokinetic model to calculate weekly intake (WI PKM) shows that only 2% of subjects exceed the PTWI. The mean of the individual ratios WI FFQ/WI PKM is 4.3 and the higher the WI FFQ and the blood MeHg level, the lower is the ratio, close to 1-2. CONCLUSIONS These analyses support the assumption that the calculated dose of methylmercury is overestimated with the FFQ-based method used in this study. Since FFQ are commonly used in risk assessments, the overestimate of dose is public health protective and this finding is somewhat reassuring from a public health point of view, especially since the JECFA or EPA have applied uncertainty factors of 3.2 or 3, respectively, to take into account the inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability.

Comparison of the nutritional-toxicological conflict related to seafood consumption in different regions worldwide.

This article discusses the seafood consumption worldwide as well as the related nutritional-toxicological conflict. An exposure assessment was performed using seafood consumption data from the Global Environment Monitoring System and nutrient and contaminant concentration data. The data indicated that the region of Japan, Korea, Madagascar and Philippines have the highest seafood consumption, followed by the Nordic-Baltic countries and South-East Asia. In Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Philippines and the Nordic-Baltic countries, pelagic marine fishes are highly consumed compared to fresh water fishes in South-East Asia. Because pelagic fishes are oily fishes, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Philippines and the Nordic-Baltic countries have high omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D intake. Iodine intake is influenced by the demersal fish consumption. The current intake of these nutrients via seafood consumption is still below the recommendations. From the toxicological side, the data indicate that none of the seafood groups had a median contaminant concentration above the EU maximum limits. Though, the results show that in some regions the contaminant intake exceeded the international health-based guidance values, mainly focussing on sensitive subpopulations. In contrast, when using less stringent guidance values relevant for non-sensitive subpopulations, the results show that the benefits of increased seafood consumption outweigh the risks.

Assessment of dietary exposure of nitrate and nitrite in France

The aim of this study was to assess the dietary exposure of nitrate and nitrite in France. A total of 13, 657 concentration levels of nitrate and nitrite measured in food, representing 138 and 109 food items, respectively, and coming from French monitoring programmes between 2000 and 2006, were used. Depending on the non-detected and non-quantified analysis treatment, lower and upper concentration mean estimates were calculated for each food item. These were combined with consumption data derived from 1474 adults and 1018 children from the French national individual consumption survey (INCA1), conducted in 1999 and based on a 7-day food record diary. A total of 18% of spinaches, 6% of salads, 10% of cheeses, 8% of meat products and 6% of industrial meat products exceeded the European nitrate maximum level or maximum residual level. A total of 0.4% of industrial meat products and 0.2% of meat products exceeded their European nitrite maximum level or maximum residual level. Nitrate dietary exposure averaged 40% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI; 3.7 mg kg−1 body weight day−1) for adults and 51 − 54% of the ADI for children with the major contributors being, for adults and children, respectively, vegetables (24 and 27% of ADI), potatoes (5 and 11% of ADI), and water (5 and 5% of ADI). The individual nitrate dietary intake of 1.4% (confidence interval (CI95th) [0.8; 2.0]) to 1.5% (CI95th [0.9; 2.1]) of adults and 7.9% (CI95th [6.2; 9.6]) to 8.4% (CI95th [6.7; 10.1]) of children were higher than the ADI. Nitrite dietary exposure averaged 33–67% of the ADI (0.06 mg kg−1 body weight day−1) for adults and 67–133% of the ADI for children, with contributions of additive food vectors at 33% of ADI for adults and 50–67% of ADI for children. The individual nitrite dietary intake of 0.7% (CI95th [0.3; 1.1]) to 16.4% (CI95th [14.5; 18.3]) of adults and 10.5% (CI95th [8.6; 12.4]) to 66.2% (CI95th [63.3; 69.1]) of children were higher than the ADI.

Dietary exposure to pesticide residues in Yaoundé: The Cameroonian total diet study

Dietary exposure to pesticide residues was assessed in Yaoundé, Cameroon, using the total diet study (TDS) method. Sixty-three composite samples, representative of the foods as consumed in Yaoundé, were collected, prepared, and analysed for residues of pesticides including organochlorine, organophosphorous, and pyrethroids. A multi-residue method was used with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.005mgkg−1. Additional analyses were performed for dithiocarbamates (LOD=0.050mgkg−1), glyphosate (LOD=0.005mgkg−1) and chlordecone (LOD=0.0008mgkg−1) on certain composites samples. The overall contamination was low with 37 out of 46 pesticides below the LOD in all samples. The estimated upper bound (for values less than the LOD equal the LOD; and values less than the LOQ equal the LOQ) of the mean dietary exposures ranged from 0.24% (cypermethrin) to 3.03% (pirimiphos-methyl) of the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) for pesticides for which at least one analysis was greater than the LOD. This study suggests a low dietary exposure to pesticide residues in Yaoundé.