Evaluation of daily intake of PCDD/Fs and indicator PCBs in formula-fed Spanish children

Occurrence, sources, and pathways of chemical contaminants in infant formulas

Infant formulas are manufactured products to meet specific nutritional requirements for infants. However, infant formulas can contain harmful substances, such as chemical contaminants and residues, normally due to possible contamination of the raw material or from the production chain. Some studies have demonstrated that veterinary drugs, pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, packaging materials, within other chemicals are found in infant formulas from different sources of contamination. It is known that some of these substances can be hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, immunotoxic, contributing to antibiotic resistance, among other detrimental consequences for consumers' health. The purpose of this review is to assess the scientific evidence concerning the occurrence, sources, and pathways of contamination, as well as the detrimental impacts on infant health due to the possible presence of chemical contaminants and residues in infant formulas. Moreover, strategies to reduce the risk of contamination of infant formulas are presented to ensure the highest standards of quality of infant formulas. The entire infant formula manufacturing process should be monitored and controlled to minimize the risk of contamination during processing, storage, and distribution, besides ensuring the use of raw materials with as low as acceptable levels of harmful substances in order to assure that the final product shall comply with the maximum levels and maximum residue limits, when established, for residues and contaminants in the final product.

Occurrence of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Fruit and Vegetables from the "Land of Fires" Area of Southern Italy

The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-concentrations dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) (PCDD/Fs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in fruit and vegetables collected in farms located in the well-known “Land of Fires” area of Southern Italy, in an effort to learn more about the environmental pollution of this high-risk area due to illegal waste dumping and uncontrolled burning near cultivated fields. Concentrations were in the range 0.011–2.26 ng g⁻¹ for the six “indicator” non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs), and 0.0009–0.096 pg WHO toxic equivalent (TEQ) g⁻¹ for the sum of dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) and PCDD/Fs. Lacking maximum limits for these contaminants in fruit and vegetables, the concentration values found were compared with the action levels set out in the EU Recommendations. These levels were never exceeded in the examined samples. In the present study, the highest mean value for PCDD/Fs + DL-PCB corresponded to apricots, olives, and nuts, while the lowest values were observed in endive and green beans. The results showed also that NDL-PCB levels in apricots were much higher than in any other food, suggesting that they can accumulate PCBs: this fruit might be proposed as a “sentinel” of the presence of these contaminants in the environment.

Monthly variation in faeces:blood concentration ratio of persistent organic pollutants over the first year of life: a case study of one infant

Previous studies have found that the concentrations of a range of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in faeces is linearly proportional to the POP concentrations in blood of human adults irrespective of age and gender. In order to investigate the correlation between POP concentrations in faeces and blood in infants, the monthly variation of POP concentrations in faeces over the first year of life of one infant was investigated in this study and compared to modelled blood concentrations. Faecal samples were collected from one male infant daily. The samples were pooled by month and analysed for three selected POPs (2,2('),4,4('),5,5(')-Hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) and 2,2('),4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE47)). The POP concentrations in faecal samples increased for the first four months by a factor of 2.9, 4.9 and 1.4 for PCB153, BDE47, and p,p'-DDE, respectively. The faecal concentrations of all POPs decreased rapidly following the introduction of formula and solid food to the diet and subsequent weaning of the infant. Further, a one-compartment model was developed to estimate the daily POP concentrations in the blood of the infant. The POP concentrations in blood were predicted to vary much less over the first year than those observed in faeces. The faeces:blood concentration ratio of selected POPs (Kfb) differed significantly (P<0.0001) between the period before and after weaning, and observed changes in Kfb are far greater than the uncertainty in the estimated Kfb. A more stable Kfb after weaning indicates the possibility of applying the stable Kfb values for non-invasive assessment of internal exposure in infants after weaning. The intra-individual variation in Kfb in infants is worthy of further investigation.

Infant dietary exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in Greece

The dietary exposure of infants to polychlorinated dibenzo dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) is an issue of great social impact. We investigated for the first time the dietary intake of these compounds in infants living in Greece. We included in our study two age groups: 0-6 months, when infants are fed exclusively by human milk and/or formula milk, and 6 to 12 months, when solid food is introduced to nutrition. We took into consideration analytical results for PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs concentrations in the most popular infant formulae in the Greek market, previous data for mother milk concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs from Greece, and finally analytical data for fat-containing food products from the Greek market. In the first study group, it was found than in infants exclusively fed by breast milk, the calculated sum of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs (60.3-80.4 TEQ pg/kg body weight) was significantly higher than that of infants that consume a combination of human milk and formula (31.2-41.6 TEQ pg/kg body weight). In the second study group, separate daily intake estimations were performed for babies receiving human milk (estimated total daily intake 19.76-24.95 TEQ pg/kg body weight) and formula milk (estimated total daily intake 1.60-2.24 TEQ pg/kg body weight). The risks of this exposure should not be overestimated because nursing is restricted to a limited period of human life and besides, the potential consumption of higher levels of dioxin-like compounds is fully compensated by the significant benefits of breast-feeding.