Dietary exposure of PCDD/FS and DL-PCBS in the Korean population

Abstract

Risk assessment of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is used to provide information and guidance to consumers and to guide development of policies for food safety. The risk dietary exposure to of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs was assessed based on the analysis of 2,410 samples from 257 different food items, and the food consumption of the Korean population. Compared to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the average daily dietary exposure of the Korean population was lower than WHO TDI. Fishery products contributed the highest proportion of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs. Consumption data of the extreme (95th percentile) group and the various subgroups (by age, pregnancy and lactation) as well as the average were also analyzed. The detected patterns of PCDD/F and DL-PCB congeners in human serum were more similar to those in food than in air in the same region. The probabilistic method by Monte-Carlo simulation were applied and compared with deterministic method for advanced assessment.