Evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contents and risk assessment for infant formula in Korea

The contents of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene], and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene were analyzed in 152 infant formulas in Korea as a risk assessment. To measure the eight PAHs, all infant formulas were randomly acquired from a supermarket or website. The 152 infant formulas were divided into three categories such as infant formula, follow-up formula, and special formula. The contents of eight PAHs were determined in the infant formulas by saponification, liquid-liquid extraction, purification, and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescent detection. The concentrations of the eight PAHs varied from 0.088 to 0.181 μg/kg. In addition, the benzo[a]pyrene content in all samples was <1 μg/kg, which is regulated by the commission regulations as the maximum tolerable level. Dietary exposure was supposed under four scenarios according to infant intake pattern for the exposure assessment and risk characterization. Dietary exposure was in the range of 0.012 to 0.020 ng-TEQ_BaP/kg/day, and the margin of exposure range was 5,368,549 to 10,169,950 which represents negligible concern. Therefore, these results demonstrate that the very low levels of PAHs in infant formulas are of negligible concern.