Dietary exposure to aluminium of the Hong Kong population

Abstract

A total of 256 individual food samples were collected in Hong Kong for aluminium testing. Most of food samples were analysed in ready-to-eat form. High aluminium levels were found in steamed bread/bun/cake (mean: 100–320 mg kg⁻¹), some bakery products such as muffin, pancake/waffle, coconut tart and cake (mean: 250, 160, 120 and 91 mg kg⁻¹, respectively), and jellyfish (ready-to-eat form) (mean: 1200 mg kg⁻¹). The results demonstrated that aluminium-containing food additives have been widely used in these food products. The average dietary exposure to aluminium for a 60 kg adult was estimated to be 0.60 mg kg⁻¹ bw week⁻¹, which amounted to 60% of the new PTWI established by JECFA. The main dietary source was “steamed bread/bun/cake”, which contributed to 60% of the total exposure, followed by “bakery products” and “jellyfish”, which contributed to 23 and 10% of the total exposure, respectively. However, the estimation did not include the intake of aluminium from natural food sources, food contact materials or other sources (e.g. drinking water). Although the results indicated that aluminium it is unlikely to cause adverse health effect for the general population, the risk to some populations who regularly consume foods with aluminium-containing food additives cannot be ruled out.

Keywords:

• exposure assessment
• aluminium
• bakery products
• confectionary
• snack products

Notes

Note

1. INS is the International Numbering System for Food Additives adopted by Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex).