Assessment of dietary exposure to nonylphenol in infant formula retailed in Shanghai

Objective To assess the health risk of dietary exposure to nonylphenol in infants aged 0-36 months through infant formula in Shanghai.

Methods A monitoring of nonylphenol pollution in infant formula was conducted in 2022. A total of 90 samples were obtained from maternal and infant stores， supermarkets， and online stores in Shanghai. Based on the daily consumption data of infant formula， a point assessment method was used to assess the dietary exposure to nonylphenol in infant formula.

Results The prevalence of nonylphenol in infant formula retailed in Shanghai was 95.6% （86/90）. The amount of nonylphenol varied from non-detected to 22.70 μg·kg^-1， with the mean value of 8.47 μg·kg^-1 and the P₅₀ value of 7.77 μg·kg^-1. The mean daily nonylphenol exposure （estimated by body weight） from infant formula in infants aged 0-6 months， 7-12 months and 13-36 months in Shanghai was 0.091， 0.068 and 0.054 μg·kg^-1， respectively； furthermore， the P₉₅ value of daily exposure （by body weight） was 0.228， 0.152 and 0.119 μg·kg^-1， respectively. These amounts were much lower than the tolerable daily intake （TDI） of nonylphenol （by body weight 5 μg·kg^-1）.

Conclusion The health risk of daliy nonylphenol intake from infant formula remains low among infants aged 0-36 months in Shanghai.