DEP - Apresentações orais em encontros internacionais
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- Are Portuguese children exposed to mycotoxins through infant foods? A preliminary approachPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Vasco, Elsa; Nunes, Baltazar; Alvito, PaulaMycotoxins are a wide group of fungal secondary metabolites that cause toxic and carcinogenic outcomes in humans exposed to them. The major foodborne mycotoxins of public health interest are the aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecene and ochratoxin A (OTA)1,2. Infants have a more restricted diet and they generally consume more food on a body weight basis than adults thus they are a particularly vulnerable population group to food contaminants as mycotoxins. In Portugal, Alvito et al. had reported the presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and M1 (AFM1) and OTA in baby foods3 and no data are available until now concerning the exposure assessment of Portuguese children to these mycotoxins. Exposure assessment, which evaluates the degree of intake of a certain contaminant, is one of the four steps included in risk assessment. Although several scientific reports have been published in order to propose the best methodologies for the exposure assessment framework, to date harmonization is far from being achieved4. The aim of the present study was to estimate the exposure of Portuguese children to mycotoxins due to infant foods ingestion, based on a probabilistic approach, using a risk analysis software (@Risk 6 for Excel, Palisade). The mycotoxin occurrence3 of AFB1, AFM1 and OTA in infant foods and consumption data for children until 3 years old were modeled. Consumption data were based on preliminary results recently obtained during a pilot study performed at Primary Health Care Unit from Cascais under the Mycomix Project. Different strategies had been considered to treat the left censored data.
- Occurrence and infant exposure assessment of chemical contaminants in baby foodsPublication . Alvito, Paula; Vasco, Elsa; Martins, Carla; Paixão, Eleonora; Calhau, Maria Antónia
- Risk assessment of foods consumed by children: a case studyPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Martins, Carla; Vasco, Elsa; Nunes, Baltazar; Alvito, PaulaChildren can be biologically more sensitive to certain toxicants on a body weight basis than adults. Current understanding of the rates of maturation of metabolism and evidence from case studies indicated that this population group typically lack the capacity to detoxify and eliminate substances as readily as adults. Consequently, a disproportionate burden of exposure from food contaminants, as mycotoxins, is borne by children. In many parts of the world, children are routinely exposed to many mycotoxins via food chain and aflatoxins, fumonisins and deoxynivalenol are the three most common. Risk assessment constitutes an essential component in modern science-based food safety systems and plays a growing and important role in guiding food safety authorities. Most studies have focused on the risk assessment of single mycotoxins and there are scarce data concerning the risk associated with human exposure to multiple mycotoxins in foods, especially for those intended for children consumption. MYCOMIX, a recent Portuguese project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsKaz3mt2J4), assessed for the first time, the risk associated with the simultaneous exposure to 13 mycotoxins in cereal-based food products usually consumed by children until 3 years old from Lisbon region, Portugal. Results on mycotoxins occurrence showed that 94% of the analysed samples were contaminated with at least one mycotoxin, although at levels below the legislated limits. Co-contamination was observed in 75% of the analysed samples. Estimated aflatoxins exposure suggested a potential adverse health effect for percentiles of intake above or equal to P50, determined through margin of exposure concept. Considering the potential benefit effects linked to the consumption of cereal-based products, as those associated with fibres, future studies considering the risk-benefit assessment are of utmost importance to establish recommendations based on scientific evidences to protect children’s health.
- Risk assessment of Portuguese children exposed to single and multiple mycotoxins in breakfast cerealsPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Vasco, Elsa; Nunes, Baltazar; Loureiro, S.; Martins, Carla; Alvito, PaulaIn human health risk assessment, ingestion of food is considered a major route of exposure to many contaminants, namely mycotoxins, a wide group of fungal secondary metabolites that cause toxic and carcinogenic outcomes in humans exposed to them1. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to characterize, for the first time, the risk associated with the exposure of Portuguese children to single and multiple mycotoxins present in breakfast cereals (BC). METHODOLOGIES: Portuguese children (0-3 years old) food consumption data (n=103) were performed using a 3 days food diary. Occurrence data concerned the quantification of 12 mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisins and trichothecenes) were evaluated in 34 BC samples marketed in 2014 in Lisboa. Daily exposure of children to mycotoxins were performed using a deterministic (Microsoft Excel 2007) and probabilistic (@Risk 6 for Excel, Palisade) approaches. The output of exposure was compared to the dose reference values (TDI) in order to calculate the margin of safety (MOS). For the cumulative risk assessment of multiple mycotoxins, the concentration addition (CA) concept was used2,3. Different strategies had been considered to treat the left censored data4. RESULTS: 88% of BC samples were contaminated with mycotoxins including 1 to 7 different toxins. Approximately 23 % of the studied children consumed BC at least one time in these 3 days. Preliminary results showed that children exposure to single mycotoxins present in BC were well below the TDI. MOS values for multiple mycotoxins were near 1. CONCLUSIONS: This study concerns the first risk assessment of Portuguese children to single and multiple mycotoxins in BC. Children are a particularly vulnerable population group to food contaminants and the present results point out an urgent need to establish legal limits and control strategies regarding the presence of multiple mycotoxins in children foods in order to protect their health.