Foodborne Exposure to Pesticides and Methylmercury in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

As part of a comprehensive environmental health strategic planning project initiated by the government of Abu Dhabi, we assessed potential dietary exposure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to methylmercury (in seafood) and pesticides (in fruits and vegetables) above international guideline levels. We present results for the UAE population by age, gender, and body mass index. Our results show very low daily risks of exposure to pesticides in fruits and vegetables at levels exceeding WHO guidelines even under the conservative assumption that no pesticides are removed during washing and food preparation. Thus, exposure to pesticides on fruits and vegetables does not appear to be a major public health concern in the UAE. The chances of exposure to methylmercury in seafood are much higher; our model estimates a mean 1 in 5 daily risk of exceeding the FAO/WHO provisional tolerable weekly intake. However, great caution should be used in interpreting these results, as we analyzed only the risks and not the substantial benefits of fish consumption. In fact, previous studies have demonstrated that exposure to the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish can increase IQ in developing children, and it can substantially decrease the risk in adults of coronary heart disease and stroke. Further research is warranted to compare the risk of Me-Hg exposure from fish to the nutritional benefits of fish consumption in the UAE and to determine appropriate methods to communicate risk and benefit information to the UAE population.

Estimated burden of disease attributable to selected occupational exposures in the United Arab Emirates

“…While the UAE has by all accounts leapfrogged into the post‐industrial age, its environmental and occupational health and safety programs have struggled to keep pace. Growing public concerns about occupational and environmental risks to health, including occupational health studies revealing unsafe work practices [Gomes et al, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002; Al‐Kaabi and Hadipriono, 2003; Al Nahyan, 2009], prompted the Abu Dhabi government to commission a comprehensive assessment of the risks to health of exposures to hazardous physical, chemical, and biological substances in air, water, soil, food, and workplaces [Li et al, 2010; Willis et al, 2010; Davidson et al, 2012; MacDonald Gibson et al, in press]. As part of this process, government agency representatives, scientists, industry representatives, and others in the UAE participated in a focus group process to prioritize environmental risks to health [Willis et al, 2010].…”

Conducting Environmental Health Research in the Arabian Middle East: Lessons Learned and Opportunities

“…The first three components of this work are described elsewhere ( Davidson et al 2011 ; Gibson 2011 ; Li et al 2010 ; MacDonald Gibson and Farah 2012 ; Willis et al 2010 ).…”