The Margin of Exposure to Formaldehyde in Alcoholic Beverages

Abstract

Formaldehyde has been classifi ed as carcinogenic to humans (WHO IARC group 1). It causes leukaemia and nasopharyngeal cancer, and was described to regularly occur in alcoholic beverages. However, its risk associated with consumption of alcohol has not been systematically studied, so this study will provide the fi rst risk assessment of formaldehyde for consumers of alcoholic beverages. Human dietary intake of formaldehyde via alcoholic beverages in the European Union was estimated based on WHO alcohol consumption data and literature on formaldehyde contents of different beverage groups (beer, wine, spirits, and unrecorded alcohol). The risk assessment was conducted using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach with benchmark doses (BMD) for 10 % effect obtained from dose-response modelling of animal experiments. For tumours in male rats, a BMD of 30 mg kg -1 body weight per day and a "BMD lower confi dence limit" (BMDL) of 23 mg kg -1 d -1 were calculated from available long-term animal experiments. The average human exposure to formaldehyde from alcoholic beverages was estimated at 8·10-5 mg kg -1 d -1. Comparing the human exposure with BMDL, the resulting MOE was above 200,000 for average scenarios. Even in the worst-case scenarios, the MOE was never below 10,000, which is considered to be the threshold for public health concerns. The risk assessment shows that the cancer risk from formaldehyde to the alcohol-consuming population is negligible and the priority for risk management (e.g. to reduce the contamination) is very low. The major risk in alcoholic beverages derives from ethanol and acetaldehyde. Monakhova Y B, et al. EXPOSURE TO FORMALDEHYDE IN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2012;63:227-237 Formaldehyde (methanal, CH 2 O, CAS # 50-00-0) is a colourless substance, which is widely present in foods, industry, and in the environment (1, 2) and may also be endogenously produced in humans and animals (3). The industrial use includes mainly the production of various types of resin, the use as intermediate in the manufacture of industrial chemicals, and the direct use in aqueous solutions (formalin) as a disinfectant and preservative (1-3). Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a causal relationship between formaldehyde and cancer in humans (3). Causality is indicated by consistent fi ndings of increased risks of nasopharyngeal cancer, sinonasal cancer, and myeloid leukaemia among individuals with high exposure to formaldehyde. The fi ndings are based on case-control studies of industrial workers and other professional groups in inhalatory contact with formaldehyde such as pathologists, funeral directors or embalmers (3). Biological mechanisms associated with formaldehydeinduced cancer are not completely understood, but potential carcinogenic modes of actions for formaldehyde include DNA reactivity (covalent Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/8/18 6:46 AM 228 binding), gene mutation, chromosomal breakage, aneuploidy, and epigenetic effects (3). However, the biological plausibility of an associa...

Carcinogenic compounds in alcoholic beverages: an update

“…Formaldehyde is a natural ingredient of a variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, milk products and fish. Relatively high concentrations of formaldehyde were found in alcoholic beverages (Monakhova et al 2012). In an earlier survey of about 500 products of wine, beer, spirits and unrecorded alcohol, it was shown that only 1.8 % of the samples had formaldehyde levels above the WHO IPCS tolerable concentration.…”

“…A 60-kg person would need to consume 0.8 L of alcohol at 14.37 mg/L daily to exceed the US EPA RfD of 0.2 mg/kg bodyweight/day, which is extremely unlikely even in this worst-case scenario (Jendral et al 2011). Monakhova et al (2012) estimated the human dietary intake of formaldehyde via alcoholic beverages in the European Union based on WHO alcohol consumption data and the literature on formaldehyde contents of beer, wine, spirits and unrecorded alcohol. The estimated human exposure to formaldehyde from alcoholic beverages averages 8 × 10 −5 mg/kg bodyweight/day, which was suggested as being below the threshold for public health concern (Monakhova et al 2012).…”

Formaldehyde in hair straightening products: Rapid 1H NMR determination and risk assessment

“…Formaldehyde (methanal, CH 2 O, CAS # 50‐00‐0) is a colourless substance, which may be present in foods, beverages, industry and in the environment . The hazard of formaldehyde has been confirmed by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which found sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde .…”

“…The safety of these products has become an issue because many of them contain formaldehyde as an active ingredient, which is used for covalently altering keratins during the treatments to prolong the straightening effect [1,2]. Formaldehyde (methanal, CH 2 O, CAS # 50-00-0) is a colourless substance, which may be present in foods, beverages, industry and in the environment [3][4][5][6]. The hazard of formaldehyde has been confirmed by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which found sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde [7,8].…”

Exploitation of pulsed flows for on-line dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction: Spectrophotometric determination of formaldehyde in milk

“…However, formaldehyde exerts toxic effects on humans, including irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract, headaches, nausea, drowsiness and allergic skin reactions [14]. It is also considered a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [15,16]. As it reduces the bacteria count and increases the shelf life of milk [17,18], several cases of milk adulteration by formaldehyde were recently reported [19].…”