Limit values for intakes of persistent pollutants via food
The page includes limit values set up by international advisory and/or governing bodies regulating environmental health issues for intakes of persistent contaminants, organic or inorganic, via food. Contaminants currently included for their limit values are:
- Mercury (Hg) as its organic form, methylmercury (MeHg), the most readily bioaccumulated form
- Dioxins and furans (PCDD/F) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs)
- Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs)
Table 1. Limit values for MeHg intakes as body weight related concentration units per day set up by various international regulating bodies.
| TDI | PTWI | RfD | Year | Reference | Organisation |
| - | - | 0,1 µg/kg bw/d | 2000 | 1, 2 | NRC |
| - | - | 0,3-1,0 µg/kg bw/d | 1998 | 3 | Clewell et al. 1998 (meta-analysis or suchlike) |
| - | - | 0,1 µg/kg bw/d | 1997 | 4 | U.S.EPA for any person including children & pregnant women |
| - | - | 0,025-0,06 µg/kg bw/d | 1995 | 5 | Gilbert & Grant-Webster 1995 |
| - | - | 0,05 µg/kg bw/d | 1995 | - | Gilbert & Grant-Webster 1995, Rice 1992 |
| - | - | 0,07 µg/kg bw/d | 1993 | 6 | Stern 1993 |
| - | 3,3 µg/kg bw | - | 7 | JECFA for adults only | |
| 0,48 µg/kg bw | - | - | 1990 | 8 | The WHO/IPCS for adults only |
- TDI=tolerable daily intake[1]
- PTWI=permissible tolerable weekly intake[1]
- RfD=reference dose[1]
- NRC=The U.S. National Research Council
- U.S.EPA=The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- JECHA=the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
- WHO/IPCS=The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) is a joint venture of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization
Table 2. Limit values for PCDD/F and DL-PCB intakes as body weight related concentration units per day set up by various international regulating bodies.
- TDI=tolerable daily intake[1]
- t-TWI=temporary tolerable weekly intake[1]
- PTMI=permissible tolerable monthly intake[1]
- U.S.EPA=The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- SCF=The Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission
- JECHA=the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
- WHO=World Health Organisation
- ATSDR=The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
PBDEs
For polybrominated diphenylethers there is currently no limit values available. JECFA (the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) however has given an indicative threshold concentration at 100 µg/kg body weight/day, and concludes that ‘the limited toxicity data suggests that for the more toxic (less brominated) PBDE congeners (eg. BDE-47 and BDE-99) adverse effects would be unlikely to occur at doses of less than approximately 100 µg/kg bw per day’. FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) concurs with the JECFA conclusions.[2]
Additional references
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 IUPAC glossary terms used in toxicology
- ↑ Food standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) 2007. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in food in Australia. Study of concentrations in foods in Australia including dietary exposure assessment and risk characterisation.