Concentration of morpholine residues in major fruits and juices and its dietary exposure in China

ABSTRACT

Morpholine is a common chemical used as emulsifier in the preparation of wax coatings for some fruit to help them remain fresh and protect against insects and fungal contamination. It has been reported that morpholine has acute toxic effects on rodents. In the present study, morpholine concentrations were analysed in fruits (citrus fruits, apples, strawberries and grapes) and juices (apple juice and orange juice) in order to determine dietary exposure among the Chinese population. A total of 732 fruit and juice samples were collected during 2015–2016, which covered major foods in China. Fruit and juice consumption data were taken from China National Nutrient and Health Survey (2002) and include data from 16,407 fruit or juice consumers. It was found that mean dietary exposure to morpholine residues from fruits and/or juices for general Chinese consumers and children 2–6 years old were 0.42 and 1.24 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The 97.5% intake in general Chinese consumers and children 2–6 years old were 2.25 and 6.90 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The primary food sources of the morpholine dietary intake of general Chinese consumers were citrus fruits (57.4%) and apples (40.8%). These findings suggested that dietary exposure to morpholine in the Chinese population was lower than the acceptable daily intake of morpholine, and there are no health concerns.

KEYWORDS:

• Morpholine
• NMOR
• dietary exposure
• risk assessment
• Chinese population

Acknowledgments

We thank the National Institute for Nutrition and Health of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for providing the fruit and juice consumption data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to policy of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by National Support Program for Science and Technology (2012BAK01B04).