Levels of Perfluorinated Compounds in Food and Dietary Intake of PFOS and PFOA in The Netherlands

Abstract

This study presents concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in food and the dietary intake of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in The Netherlands. The concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in food were analyzed in pooled samples of foodstuffs randomly purchased in several Dutch retail store chains with nation-wide coverage. The concentrations analyzed for PFOS and PFOA were used to assess the exposure to these compounds in The Netherlands. As concentrations in drinking water in The Netherlands were missing for these compounds, conservative default concentrations of 7 pg/g for PFOS and 9 pg/g for PFOA, as reported by European Food Safety Authority, were used in the exposure assessment. In food, 6 out of 14 analyzed perfluorinated compounds could be quantified in the majority of the food categories (perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), PFOA, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoro-1-hexanesulfonate (PFHxS), and PFOS). The highest concentration of the sum of these six compounds was found in crustaceans (825 pg/g product, PFOS: 582 pg/g product) and in lean fish (481 pg/g product, PFOS: 308 pg/g product). Lower concentrations were found in beef, fatty fish, flour, butter, eggs, and cheese (concentrations between 20 and 100 pg/g product; PFOS, 29-82 pg/g product) and milk, pork, bakery products, chicken, vegetable, and industrial oils (concentration lower than 10 pg/g product; PFOS not detected). The median long-term intake for PFOS was 0.3 ng/kg bw/day and for PFOA 0.2 ng/kg bw/day. The corresponding high level intakes (99th percentile) were 0.6 and 0.5 ng/kg bw/day, respectively. These intakes were well below the tolerable daily intake values of both compounds (PFOS, 150 ng/kg bw/day; PFOA, 1500 ng/kg bw/day). The intake calculations quantified the contribution of drinking water to the PFOS and PFOA intake in The Netherlands. Important contributors of PFOA intake were vegetables/fruit and flour. Milk, beef, and lean fish were important contributors of PFOS intake.

Perfluoroalkylated substances in food: occurrence and dietary exposure

“…The highest exposure (99 th percentile) for PFOS and PFOA was 0.6 and 0.5 ng/kg b.w. per day, respectively (VWA, 2010;Noorlander et al, 2011). The close to 10-fold lower exposure reported in the Dutch population compared to other studies can be partly explained by the more sensitive analytical methods applied in the analysis of PFASs in food (LODs and LOQs in the low range of pg/kg) thus reducing the influence of the left-censored data on the exposure estimates.…”

“…In a study on the dietary exposure of the Dutch population to PFOS and PFOA, (Noorlander et al,2011) it was reported that drinking water was the main contributor to PFOS and PFOA. However, no information on the actual concentration of PFOS and PFOA in the Dutch drinking water was available so the indicative concentrations used in the EFSA Scientific Opinion (EFSA, 2008) were applied.…”

Occurrence of perfluorinated alkylated substances in cereals, salt, sweets and fruit items collected in four European countries

“…In recent years the literature on PFAAs in food and/or dietary intake has increased rapidly but data necessary to estimate the intake via food remain scarce (Ericson et al, 2008;Ericson-Jogsten et al, 2009; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.10.011 0045-6535/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Noorlander et al, 2011;Cornelis et al, 2012;Vestergren et al, 2012b;Klenow et al, 2013). However, PFAAs in food items in which high levels are expected such as fish, seafood, organs (liver) and meat products are described in the literature (D'Hollander et al, 2010;EFSA, 2012).…”

“…Likewise, data in water and/or drinking water are relatively abundant (D'Hollander et al, 2010;Eschauzier et al, 2011). On the other hand, sufficient data on other food items such as cereals, fruits, vegetables, fats, sugar-rich products and processed food are occasionally described even though they are consumed in high amounts (Ericson et al, 2008;Noorlander et al, 2011;Vestergren et al, 2012b). This could be explained by the lack of reliable sensitive analytical methods which are required to detect PFAAs at the pg g À1 levels.…”

Transfer of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) From Contaminated Feed Into Milk and Meat of Sheep: Pilot Study

“…However, if plants grow in PFAA-contaminated soil and are fed to livestock, PFAA will enter the food chain by way of food of animal origin and might expose consumers. Some studies have reported the presence of PFAA in food of animal origin (Wang et al 2008;Guruge et al 2008;Noorlander et al 2011); however, the investigators could not identify the exposure pathway. Systematic studies on the transfer of PFOA and PFOS from contaminated feed into food of animal origin are currently not available.…”