Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment for Dietary Exposure to Aflatoxin in Peanut and Peanut Products in Taiwan.

Xin Wang, Keng-Wen Lien, Min-Pei Ling

Index: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.04.021

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Abstract

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites naturally occurring in many foods such as peanuts, spices, rice, tree nuts, and maize. Aflatoxins are both genotoxic and carcinogenic substances and can cause severe adverse health effects. The purpose of this study is to estimate the probabilistic risk of consuming aflatoxin-contaminated peanuts and peanut products. Concentration data (1.84 ± 4.03 ppb) were gathered from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) between 2005 and 2015, along with consumption rate data (from Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan) for five age groups, namely 1-2 years (babies), 3-9 years (toddlers), 10-17 years (teenagers), 18-65 years (adults), and above 65 (elderly), in two sub-populations (whole group and consumer only). These data are essential material for exposure analysis. According to the benchmark dose lower confidence limit 10% (BMDL10) (170 ng/kg bw/day) suggested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the calculated margin of exposure (MOE) value cannot reach 10,000. Cancer potency data from Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) indicates that the estimated population risk ranges from 0.0007 to 0.2713 cancers/100,000 population/year. Although aflatoxin contamination does not seem to largely account for the occurrence of liver cancer in Taiwan, MOE calculations point out that it may cause potential health concerns.