Abstract

The aim of this study is to obtain data on the exposure of non-breast-fed infants to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), organochlorine pesticides (OCP), and bisphenol A (BPA) and its chlorinated derivatives through consumption of commercial infant foods with largest shares of the market in 22 European Union countries. The E-Screen bioassay was employed to assess the oestrogenicity of the baby foods and the ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) induction was measured to determine the levels of PCDD/F and PCB. Consequently, the highest total effective xenoestrogen burden (TEXB) of 73.60 pM Eeq g(-1) was found in the soy-based formula and the EROD bioassay was always below the limit of quantification (LOQ) (3.5 pg g(-1)). Overall, the estimated dietary exposure to BPA via commercial baby foods was lower than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 50 mu g kg(-1) body weight (bw). Furthermore, the findings indicated that the dietary exposure of 0-9-month-old infants through the products investigated here does not exceed the maximum TDI of 4 pg WHO-TEQ (toxic equivalents) kg(-1) bw. However, exposure to more than 2 pg WHO-TEQ kg(-1) bw day(-1) might occur for 0-4-month-old infants consuming 'starting' hypoallergenic formula. Moreover, analysis of OCP indicated that the dietary exposure of non-breast-fed infants was not harmful. Considering the importance of early development and the vulnerability of infants and children, it is essential to determine their dietary exposure to contaminants in order to decide which efforts of risk reduction should receive highest priority.