Occurrence of selected perfluorinated alkyl acids in lunch meals served at school canteens in Italy and their relevance for children’s intake

Abstract

Ready-to-eat servings may be more contaminated with perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) than the corresponding unprocessed foods due to the presence of PFAAs in and transfer from food contact materials (FCM) and cookware. Therefore, the presence of selected PFAAs in meals served weekly at lunch time in six Italian school canteens was assessed. Five towns were selected representing different areas with local water and food supply. Daily lunch menus were sampled and pooled to form a composite. Analyses were carried out on the weekly composite from each canteen. UPLC-MS/MS quantification limits were in the 6.0–12 pg g^–1 range for the selected PFAAs (PFHxA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFHxS, branched and non-branched PFOS). Non-branched PFOS was quantified in four out of six composites, with levels ranging from 14 to 25 pg g^–1, while PFOA and PFDA were determined in two out of six in the range 6.5–8.2 pg g^–1. Theoretical estimates and analytical results in the same order of magnitude indicate a negligible contribution from food processing and serving to meal contamination. When composite analytical data are transposed into dietary estimates, it is shown that Italian school-age children have intakes in the range of 0.3–1.1 and 0.5–1.4 ng kg^–1 bw day^–1 for PFOA and PFOS respectively, well below the corresponding tolerable daily intakes (TDIs).

Keywords:

• PFAAs
• PFOA
• PFOS
• school canteen meals
• children intakes
• Italy

Acknowledgments

This study was financed by European Union project PERFOOD (KBBE-227525); the financial support (FP7-KBBE, grant agreement no. 227525) of the European Union is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are in debt to the following: Dr Emanuele Sangiorgi from the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale (IZS) Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna, Brescia (Italy); Dr Antonio Tosi and Dr Massimo Pontecchiani from the Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale (AUSL) of Ferrara (Italy); Dr Micaela Tiso from the IZS Piemonte, Liguria and Valle D’Aosta, Genoa (Italy); Dr Gennaro Mencarini from the IZS Umbria and Marche, Perugia (Italy); and Dr Mauro Esposito from the IZS del Mezzogiorno, Portici (Italy).