Food Consumption Data as a Tool to Estimate Exposure to Mycoestrogens

Zearalenone and alternariol are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium and Alternaria species, respectively, that present estrogenic activity and consequently are classified as endocrine disruptors. To estimate the exposure of the Portuguese population to these two mycotoxins at a national level, a modelling approach, based on data from 94 Portuguese volunteers, was developed considering as inputs: i) the food consumption data generated within the National Food and Physical Activity Survey; and ii) the human biomonitoring data used to assess the exposure to the referred mycotoxins. Six models of association between mycoestrogens urinary levels (zearalenone, total zearalenone and alternariol) and food items (meat, cheese, and fresh-cheese, breakfast cereals, sweets) were established. Applying the obtained models to the consumption data (n = 5811) of the general population, the median estimates of the probable daily intake revealed that a fraction of the Portuguese population might exceed the tolerable daily intake defined for zearalenone. A reference intake value for alternariol is still lacking, thus the characterization of risk due to the exposure to this mycotoxin was not possible to perform. Although the unavoidable uncertainties, these results are important contributions to understand the exposure to endocrine disruptors in Portugal and the potential Public Health consequences.

Palavras-chave

Mycotoxins Food Consumption Urinary Biomarkers Public Health Toxicologia Avaliação do Risco Segurança Alimentar

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/7327

Citação

Toxins (Basel). 2020 Feb 13;12(2):118. doi: 10.3390/toxins12020118

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Editora

MDPI

DOI

10.3390/toxins12020118

Coleções

DAN - Artigos em revistas internacionais

Licença CC

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