Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from the consumption of canned and bottled food has been determined for New Zealand adults. Eighty different canned foods purchased from retail outlets in Christchurch, New Zealand, between November 2003 and February 2004 were analysed for BPA concentration by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. BPA was detected in all foods analysed except for soft drinks. Concentrations ranged from <10 to 29 mg kg À1, except for individual samples of tuna, corned beef and coconut cream, which were 109, 98 and 191 mg kg À1 , respectively. The limit of quantitation was <10 mg kg À1 for foods of low fat content (<1%) and <20 mg kg À1 for foods containing >1% fat. Mean concentration data were combined with 24-h dietary recall information for 4399 individual consumers. Mean and maximum exposures were 0.008 and 0.29 mg kg À1 bw day À1, respectively, well below the temporary tolerable daily intake of 10 mg kg À1 bw day À1 given by the European Commission in 2002. The results of the present survey suggest that the levels of BPA identified in canned foods are unlikely to be of concern to adult health, and there is no reason for consumers to change their consumption patterns as a result of these findings. When the concentration data found in the current survey are applied to an oestrogenicity model for an adult male, the contribution of BPA to the total oestrogenicity from 16 food components is 7%. The impact of this level of oestrogenicity remains unclear.

Exposure to excess nitrite is a potential health risk for humans. One hundred meat and processed foods and 100 vegetable samples purchased from New Zealand retail outlets were prepared as for consumption and analysed for nitrite and nitrate concentration using a standard, validated methodology. Nitrate concentrations ranged from less than the limit of detection (LOD = 5 mg kg-1) in cheddar cheese and cream cheese-based dips to 3420 mg kg-1 in lettuce. Nitrite was detected in half the processed foods and meats analysed (levels up to 119 mg kg-1), but detected in only one vegetable sample above the LOD (broccoli at 27 mg kg-1 nitrite). Concentration data were combined with 24 h dietary recall information to generate 4398 individual adult daily exposure scenarios for exogenous nitrite and nitrate including a contribution from water assessed from 1021 drinking water samples. The mean adult daily intake of exogenous nitrate and nitrite from food and water combined was 16 and 13% of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), respectively, and therefore should not pose a health risk for the average consumer. A maximally exposed New Zealand adult is estimated to have an intake of up to seven times the ADI for nitrate. When the endogenous conversion of nitrate to nitrite is taken into account, approximately 10% of people with an average rate of conversion and half of all people with a high rate of conversion are estimated to exceed the ADI. Either the ADI is inappropriate and needs to be re-evaluated, or those individuals who have a high rate of conversion of nitrate to nitrite are at risk to adverse effects of nitrite exposure.