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Dietary risk assessment of benzophenone derivatives using bread consumption estimates in a Taiwanese population

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Abstract

Listed as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, benzophenone (BP) and its nine analogues (BPs) are an emerging group of contaminants. The migration of BPs from ultraviolet inks to food has been investigated in many studies; however, few studies have investigated BPs in foods and the risks of human exposure to BPs. We validated a trace and multi-residue method for simultaneously determining 10 BPs, including BP, BP-1, BP-2, BP-3, BP-8, 4-MBP, 2-OHBP, 4-OHBP, M2BB, and PBZ. Eighty-one bread samples were analyzed using stable isotope labeling and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry with solid-liquid extraction. We determined the estimated daily intake of BPs, non-cancer risks, and lifetime cancer risks (LTCRs) from daily bread consumption for seven age groups using a Monte Carlo simulation. The method demonstrated robust linearity (R2 ≥ 0.991), low limits of detection (0.04–2 ng/g), and satisfactory precision. The intra- and interday relative standard deviation ranges were 0.6%–9% and 3%–20%, respectively. BP, 4-MBP, 2-OHBP, BP-1, and BP-3 were detected in 97%, 67%, 59%, 24%, and 23% of the samples, respectively. 2-OHBP had the highest mean (range) value of 18.3 (<LOD–201.6) ng/g. The results demonstrated that the 0–3 year group had the highest LTCRs (2.6 × 10−6) and hazard indices [HIs] (5.4 × 10−2). The LTCRs were lower than 10-5, and the HIs were lower than 1 in seven age groups. This suggests that exposure to BPs from bread consumption is safe and acceptable.

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Abbreviations

BP:

benzophenone

BPs :

benzophenone and its analogues

2-OHBP :

2-hydroxybenzophenone

4-OHBP:

4-hydroxybenzophenone

4-MBP:

4-methylbenzophenone

M2BB:

methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate

PBZ :

4-benzoylbiphenyl

SLE:

solid-liquid extraction

SPE:

solid phase extraction

SIL-ISTDs:

stable isotope labeled internal standards

LODs :

limits of detection

LOQs :

limits of quantitation

EDI:

Estimated daily intake

HIs :

hazard indices

HQs:

hazard quotients

LTCRs:

lifetime cancer risks

SIL-UHPLC–MS/MS:

stable isotope labeling and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Xuan-Rui Liu for food sampling and sample analysis.

Funding

This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan (MOST 108-2321-B-239-001 and MOST 110-2621-M-239-001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Hsin-Chang Chen

  2. Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan

    Chung-Jung Tsai

  3. Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yu-Fang Huang

  4. Institute of Food Safety and Health Risk Assessment, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Ting Wu

Authors
  1. Hsin-Chang Chen
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  2. Chung-Jung Tsai
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  3. Yu-Fang Huang
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  4. Chen-Ting Wu
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Contributions

Hsin-Chang Chen: Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing—review, and editing. Yu-Fang Huang: Conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, resources, writing—review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. Chung-Jung Tsai: Methodology, investigation, writing—review and editing. Chen-Ting Wu: Software and data curation. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yu-Fang Huang.

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Chen, HC., Tsai, CJ., Huang, YF. et al. Dietary risk assessment of benzophenone derivatives using bread consumption estimates in a Taiwanese population. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 102323–102334 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29493-7

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