An investigation on aluminum content in commercially available flour products and risk assessment of dietary aluminum exposure of population in Minhang District, Shanghai / 公共卫生与预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate aluminum content in commercially available flour products in Minhang District, Shanghai, and to assess the risk of dietary aluminum exposure among permanent residents in Minhang. Methods From 2018 to 2019, a total of 227 samples including fried flour products, steamed flour products, puffed products and baked flour products, were collected in Minhang District to detect the aluminum content. The food frequency table was used to investigate the consumption of flour foods by permanent residents in Minhang District and to assess population dietary aluminum exposure risk. Results The average content of aluminum in 227 kinds of flour products was 31.66 mg/kg, and the exceeding standard rate was 3.96%. The over-standard foods were all fried flour products, and the over-standard rate reached 10.47%. Moreover, the aluminum over standard rate of flour products produced by itinerant vendors and restaurants was significantly higher than that of flour products produced by supermarkets and manufacturers. The average dietary intake of aluminum in Minhang residents was 0.18 mg/kg per week, accounting for 9.03% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). The aluminum exposure of the population with high consumption of foods was 1.4 mg/kg per week, accounting for 69.90% of the PTWI. Among the four types of flour products, fried flour products had the highest contribution rate to aluminum exposure. The daily consumption of fried flour products in males was significantly higher than that in females (P<0.05), and the 18-34 age group was significantly higher than the 60 years old and above group (P<0.05). Conclusion The risk of the average dietary aluminum exposure of flour foods among Minhang residents is relatively low, but people with high consumption of foods would be confronted with increased health risks. It is necessary to strengthen the supervision on the use of aluminum-containing additives in itinerant vendors and restaurants, and actively advocate reducing the frequency and the consumption of fried flour products, thus reduce the exposure to the high risk of dietary aluminum in fried flour products