IngentaConnect Survey of total mercury in total diet food composites and an esti...

Authors: Dabeka R.W.; McKenzie A.D.; Bradley P.

Source: Food Additives and Contaminants, Volume 20, Number 7, July 2003 , pp. 629-638(10)

Abstract:

Total mercury was measured in 259 total diet food composites from two Canadian cities. Levels were generally low, with 46% of the composites having concentrations below the limit of detection, which ranged from 0.026 to 0.506 ng g^-1. The fish category contained the highest mercury concentrations, which averaged 67 ng g^-1 and ranged from 24 to 148 ng g^-1. All composites were below the Canadian guideline for total mercury in fish of 0.5 ppm. Dietary intakes of mercury averaged 0.022

g kg^-1 body weight/day (

g kg^-1 day^-1), and ranged from 0.012

g kg^-1 day^-1 for females over 65 years old to 0.062

g kg^-1 day^-1 for 0-1-month-old infants. For fish consumers, fish contributed to more than half of the ingested mercury. All intakes were well below Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intakes, expressed on a daily basis, of 0.71

g kg^-1 day^-1 total mercury and 0.47

g kg^-1 day^-1 methyl mercury, and also below a recent Health Canada recommended maximum methyl mercury intake of 0.2

g kg^-1 day^-1 for children and women of child-bearing age.

Keywords: mercury; food; total diet study; dietary intake; survey

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/0265203031000119034

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Survey of total mercury in total diet food composites and an estimation of the dietary intake of mercury by adults and children from two Canadian cities, 1998-2000