Occurrence and risk assessment of 3- and 2-monochloropropanediol (MCPD) esters in vegetable oils and related products from Zhejiang market

ABSTRACT

3- And 2-monochloropropanediol fatty acid esters (3- and 2-MCPD esters) are contaminants of processed vegetable oils. In this study, vegetable oils and related products available 486 food samples from Zhejiang market were collected and analysed for 3- and 2-MCPD esters during 2016–2018. Food consumption data were taken from a food consumption survey of urban and rural residents in Zhejiang province performed in 2008 using data from 9646 subjects. Levels of 3-MCPD esters in foods ranged from not detected to 8.3 mg/kg, and the highest mean levels were found in vegetable oils with levels of 0.76 mg/kg. Esters of 2-MCPD levels ranged from not detected to 4.0 mg/kg, and the highest mean levels were found in instant noodles containing 0.40 mg/kg. The dietary intake of 3-MCPD was 0.62 μg/kg bw per day (mean) and 2.29 μg/kg bw per day (P97.5), and 2-MCPD esters intakes were 0.26 μg/kg bw per day (mean) and 0.87 μg/kg bw per day (P97.5). Vegetable oils were the main food source of dietary 3- and 2-MCPD esters intake. These findings suggested that the dietary exposure levels of 3-MCPD esters may pose a potential risk to the health for high consumers (P97.5) aged 4–17 when compared to the tolerable daily intake.

KEYWORDS:

• MCPD esters
• exposure assessment
• food

Acknowledgments

We thank the CDCs of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Lishui in Zhejiang province for submitting the occurrence data.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No.31301715]Health Commission of Zhejiang Province[Grant Nos. 2017KY293, WKJ-ZJ-1917], and Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province [Grant No.LGN20C200004].