Thumbnail Image

Human dietary exposure to chemicals in sub-Saharan Africa: safety assessment through a total diet study

Year of publication 2020

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 9

Author Ingenbleek, L., Verger, P., Gimou, M. M., Adegboye, A., Adebayo, S. B., Hossou, S. E., ... & Dansou, S.

Publisher Elsevier B.V. ;

Product type Article

Synopsis (short 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.

Open Access Article. This article is academically peer-reviewed and published externally. The article is published in The Lancet Planetary Health Volume 4, Issue 7 in July 2020

Cite this content as:

Ingenbleek, L., Verger, P., Gimou, M. M., Adegboye, A., Adebayo, S. B., Hossou, S. E., ... & Dansou, S. (2020). Human dietary exposure to chemicals in sub-Saharan Africa: safety assessment through a total diet study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(7), e292-e300.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30104-2

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in foods from the first regional total diet study in Sub-Saharan Africa: contamination profile and occurrence data 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    As part of the first multi-centre Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study, 660 typical foods from Benin, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria were purchased, prepared according to local consumption habits, and pooled into 55 composite samples. These core foods were tested for 15 + 1 EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which were quantified by isotope dilution and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The sum of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and chrysene (PAH4) represented 77% of the 13 genotoxic and carcinogenic PAHs. The highest PAH4 concentration was quantified in sea and fresh water smoked fish (mean: 179.7 μg/kg; max: 560.4 μg/kg) and the PAH4 in all smoked fish composite samples exceeded the EU maximum limit of 12 μg/kg. Further, PAH4 in edible oils (including palm oil and peanut oil) exceeded the EU maximum limit of 10 μg/kg in 50% of the cases (mean 12.0 μg/kg; max: 60.6 μg/kg). These data can be used for assessing the contribution of core foods to dietary exposure and for risk characterization.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Article
    Levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in foods from the first regional Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study 2020
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    For the first time, a multi-centre Total Diet Study was carried out in Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria. We collected and prepared as consumed 528 typical fatty foods from those areas and pooled these subsamples into 44 composites samples. These core foods were tested for a wide spectrum of POPs, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame-retardants (BFRs), organochlorine compounds (OCs), perfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS) and chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs). The POPs contamination levels were similar or lower than those reported in total diet studies previously conducted worldwide. In most cases, core foods belonging to fish food group presented higher POPs concentrations than the other food groups. Interestingly, we observed a difference in both contamination profile and concentration for smoked fish compared to non-smoked fish. Such finding suggests that the smoking process itself might account for a large proportion of the contamination. Further investigation would require the assessment of combustion materials used to smoke fish as a potential vehicle, which may contribute to the dietary exposure of the studied populations to POPs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    FAO-Thiaroye processing technique: towards adopting improved fish smoking systems in the context of benefits, trade-offs and policy implications from selected developing countries 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    More than 60 percent of global production of smoked fishery products occurs in Africa and Asia, highlighting their tremendous significance in food and nutrition security and as a vehicle for livelihood support in these regions. However, prevailing processing technologies entail significant deleterious health implications for both processors and consumers. The main hazard relates to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to have carcinogenic potential. In response to the PAH challenge and leveraging on the Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice guidelines for preventing their occurrence in smoked and dried products, the FAO-Thiaroye fish processing technique (FTT) was developed under a collaborative research approach between FAO and a fisheries institution in Senegal. To date, the FTT has been introduced in 16 countries. The technique addresses the PAH problem, and yields products that comply with international limits on the hazard, while fostering many social, economic and environmental benefits. However, experience from some African and Asian countries points to the need for a context-driven balance that ensures that the gains associated with its use can be realized without making expensive compromises, especially in terms of fisheries resources status and trade dynamics. Policy and regulatory frameworks need to be informed by a risk-based approach and supportive of consistent benchmarking and differentiation of FTT products. This document reviews the lessons from those countries, and makes the case for a hard, evidence-based, policy backbone to safeguard the sustainable, eco-friendly supply of safe smoked (and dried) fishery products to support food security, particularly in the developing world.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.