Dietary exposure to mycotoxins of 1- and 2-year-old children from a Dutch Total Diet Study

Abstract

In 2017, a Total Diet Study was conducted in the Netherlands in which mycotoxins were analysed in foods and beverages consumed by 1- and 2-year-old children. These mycotoxins were aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, citrinin, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, patulin, sterigmatocystin, trichothecenes, and zearalenone. Long-term exposure was calculated by combining concentrations in foods and beverages with consumed amounts of these products. Analysed foods and beverages with a concentration below the detection limit that could contain the mycotoxin, were assigned a concentration equal to half this limit value. To assess if the exposure could result in a possible health risk, the high long-term exposure (95th percentile) was compared with a health-based guidance value (HBGV) or a margin of exposure (MOE) was calculated. Exposure to aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, ochratoxin A and T-2/HT-2 sum may pose a health concern. Foods that contributed most to the exposure of these mycotoxins were bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals, chocolates, dried fruit, follow-on formula and fruit juices.

Combined Exposure to Multiple Mycotoxins: An Example of Using a Tiered Approach in a Mixture Risk Assessment

“…The exposure levels of the single mycotoxins can be found in Sprong et al [ 27 ] and Pustjens et al [ 26 ], with the exception of DAS and MON. The latter two mycotoxins were analysed in the TDS samples from Pustjens et al [ 26 ], but not reported in the that publication.…”

“…The exposure levels of the single mycotoxins can be found in Sprong et al [ 27 ] and Pustjens et al [ 26 ], with the exception of DAS and MON. The latter two mycotoxins were analysed in the TDS samples from Pustjens et al [ 26 ], but not reported in the that publication. As we had access to both datasets and calculations from the two TDSs that were previously published by our group, we were able to assess the combined risk of the mycotoxins in the respective assessment groups by combining all individual RPQs.…”

“…In this study, mycotoxins considered in the TDSs by Sprong et al [ 27 ] and Pustjens et al [ 26 ] were reviewed for their common effects at the organ level or phenomenon level and wherever relevant, grouped together in assessment groups to combine their exposure and estimate the related risk. This was done following an mRPI approach, using RPs and TRVs relevant to the assessment groups.…”

“…The mycotoxins included in the mycotoxin-dedicated TDSs by Sprong et al [ 27 ] and Pustjens et al [ 26 ] were considered for the combined risk assessment described in the present paper. These mycotoxins are listed in Table 8 .…”

“…In this study, we show the outcomes of using the different approaches in assessing the risks related to the combined exposure to multiple compounds. As an example, we use the data that were used to calculate the exposure to single mycotoxins in the Netherlands, as previously estimated using (mycotoxin-dedicated) total diet studies (TDS) for 1–2 year olds by Pustjens et al [ 26 ] and 2–6 and 7–69 year olds by Sprong et al [ 27 ]. This study should, therefore, be considered as a methodological example of a mixture risk assessment, rather than a risk assessment of the current combined exposure to mycotoxins, as the data used in this assessment are not the most recent data available.…”