Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin B₁ from Food Consumption in the Korean General Population

ABSTRACT

Levels were evaluated of Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB1) exposure through the intake of AFB1-contaminated foods among Koreans. Average daily intake, excess cancer risk, and population risk of AFB1 from food intake were calculated from Koreans with age greater than 20 years. Average daily intake of AFB1 by food ingestion was 0.064 ∼ 0.361 ng/kg bw/ day. Excess cancer risk of AFB1 in food with the surface antigen of the hepatitis B-virus negative (HBsAg⁻) and positive (HBsAg⁺) population was 5.76 × 10^{− 7}∼ 3.25 × 10^{− 6} and 1.47 × 10^{− 5}∼ 8.31 × 10^{− 5}, respectively. Application of JECFA's two tentative maximum levels (MLs) (10 μ g/kg and 20 μ g/kg) resulted in the population risk of 0.0009 ∼ 0.0075 and 0.0014 ∼ 0.0079 cancers/year/100,000 people, respectively, indicating that lower ML does not give a significant reduction of the risk. However, because Korea has a high incidence of HBsAg⁺ individuals, adoption of lower ML may be a reasonable decision to protect a high risk group. This is the first report on the risk assessment of AFB1 in food among the Korean population. Our study will contribute to providing the solid basis of establishing the maximum levels of AFB1 exposure through food ingestion in Korea as well as other countries.

Key Words:

• aflatoxin B₁
• average daily intake
• excess cancer risk
• population risk
• risk assessment

Notes

^a In calculating the mean, the value of samples below the level of detection (ND) was taken as either zero or the detection limit (DL, 0.08 μ g/kg).

^aFood commodity: Cereals & their product—polished rice, brown rice, barley, sweet corn, corn flake, maize, wheat flour, corn salad oil, beer; Soybeans—soybean, soy sauce, soybean paste; Nuts–peanut, walnut, almond, pistachio, pine nut, assorted. nuts; Spices—curry powder, black pepper powder, hot pepper powder.

^aAverage daily intake of normal adult according to The Third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KHIDI 2006).

^bMean exposure was calculated by this formula: {mean concentration of aflatoxin B1 × mean intake of foods × exposure years (54 yr) × exposure frequency (365 d/yr)}/{BW (60 kg) × lifetime (73 yr × 365 d/yr)}.