Luc Ingenbleek1, Philippe Verger2, Marie-Madeleine Gimou3, Abimbola Adegboye4, Samson B Adebayo4, Sètondji Epiphane Hossou5, Abdoulaye Zié Koné6, Eric Jazet7, Anaclet D Dzossa7, Julius Ogungbangbe8, Sylvestre Dansou9, Zima J Diallo10, Petru Jitaru11, Thierry Guérin11, Lionel Lopes-Pereira12, Renwei Hu12, Michael Sulyok13, Rudolf Krska14, Philippe Marchand15, Bruno Le Bizec15, Sara Eyangoh3, Jean Kamanzi16, Blaise Ouattara16, Caroline Merten17, Markus Lipp17, Renata Clarke17, Jean-Charles Leblanc18. 1. Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon; Laboratoire d'Étude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments, Oniris, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Nantes, France. 2. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. 3. Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon. 4. National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Abuja, Nigeria. 5. Agence Béninoise de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Cotonou, Benin. 6. Agence Nationale de la Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Bamako, Mali. 7. National Institute for Statistics, Yaounde, Cameroon. 8. National Bureau of Statistics, Abuja, Nigeria. 9. Institut National de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Economique, Cotonou, Benin. 10. Institut National de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Economique, Bamako, Mali. 11. Agence Nationale Pour la Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation de l'Environnement et du Travail, Maisons-Alfort, France. 12. Inovalys, Official Laboratory of Analysis, Le Mans, France. 13. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Tulln, Austria. 14. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Tulln, Austria; Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, UK. 15. Laboratoire d'Étude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments, Oniris, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Nantes, France. 16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Accra, Ghana. 17. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. 18. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: jeancharles.leblanc@fao.org.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Human dietary exposure to chemicals can result in a wide range of adverse health effects. Some substances might cause non-communicable diseases, including cancer and coronary heart diseases, and could be nephrotoxic. Food is the main human exposure route for many chemicals. We aimed to assess human dietary exposure to a wide range of food chemicals. METHODS: We did a total diet study in Benin, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria. We assessed 4020 representative samples of foods, prepared as consumed, which covered more than 90% of the diet of 7291 households from eight study centres. By combining representative dietary surveys of countries with findings for concentrations of 872 chemicals in foods, we characterised human dietary exposure. FINDINGS: Exposure to lead could result in increases in adult blood pressure up to 2·0 mm Hg, whereas children might lose 8·8-13·3 IQ points (95th percentile in Kano, Nigeria). Morbidity factors caused by coexposure to aflatoxin B1 and hepatitis B virus, and sterigmatocystin and fumonisins, suggest several thousands of additional liver cancer cases per year, and a substantial contribution to the burden of chronic malnutrition in childhood. Exposure to 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from consumption of smoked fish and edible oils exceeded levels associated with possible carcinogenicity and genotoxicity health concerns in all study centres. Exposure to aluminium, ochratoxin A, and citrinin indicated a public health concern about nephropathies. From 470 pesticides tested across the four countries, only high concentrations of chlorpyrifos in smoked fish (unauthorised practice identified in Mali) could pose a human health risk. INTERPRETATION: Risks characterised by this total diet study underscore specific priorities in terms of food safety management in sub-Saharan Africa. Similar investigations specifically targeting children are crucially needed. FUNDING: Standards and Trade Development Facility.
BACKGROUND:Human dietary exposure to chemicals can result in a wide range of adverse health effects. Some substances might cause non-communicable diseases, including cancer and coronary heart diseases, and could be nephrotoxic. Food is the main human exposure route for many chemicals. We aimed to assess human dietary exposure to a wide range of food chemicals. METHODS: We did a total diet study in Benin, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria. We assessed 4020 representative samples of foods, prepared as consumed, which covered more than 90% of the diet of 7291 households from eight study centres. By combining representative dietary surveys of countries with findings for concentrations of 872 chemicals in foods, we characterised human dietary exposure. FINDINGS: Exposure to lead could result in increases in adult blood pressure up to 2·0 mm Hg, whereas children might lose 8·8-13·3 IQ points (95th percentile in Kano, Nigeria). Morbidity factors caused by coexposure to aflatoxin B1 and hepatitis B virus, and sterigmatocystin and fumonisins, suggest several thousands of additional liver cancer cases per year, and a substantial contribution to the burden of chronic malnutrition in childhood. Exposure to 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from consumption of smoked fish and edible oils exceeded levels associated with possible carcinogenicity and genotoxicity health concerns in all study centres. Exposure to aluminium, ochratoxin A, and citrinin indicated a public health concern about nephropathies. From 470 pesticides tested across the four countries, only high concentrations of chlorpyrifos in smoked fish (unauthorised practice identified in Mali) could pose a human health risk. INTERPRETATION: Risks characterised by this total diet study underscore specific priorities in terms of food safety management in sub-Saharan Africa. Similar investigations specifically targeting children are crucially needed. FUNDING: Standards and Trade Development Facility.
Authors: Martin E Kimanya; Michael N Routledge; Emmanuel Mpolya; Chibundu N Ezekiel; Candida P Shirima; Yun Yun Gong Journal: PLoS One Date: 2021-03-11 Impact factor: 3.240