Dietary exposure assessment of deoxynivalenol in wheat flour and its products sold in Shanghai

Objective To investigate the pollution level of deoxynivalenol （DON） in wheat flour and its products sold in Shanghai， and to assess the health risks of DON exposure for residents in Shanghai who ingested DON from wheat flour and its products.

Methods Risk monitoring data of DON in wheat flour and its products sold in Shanghai from 2017 to 2021 were combined with the consumption data of wheat flour and its products by Shanghai residents. A probabilistic assessment method was used to assess dietary exposure of DON in wheat flour and its products.

Results The overall detection rate of DON in wheat flour and its products was 77.3% （1 041/1 347）， with a mean concentration of 226.3 μg·kg^-1， P₅₀ of 130.0 μg·kg^-1 and a maximum value of 3 080.0 μg·kg^-1. The mean daily exposure and 95th percentile daily exposure （by body weight） of DON from wheat flour and its products in Shanghai residents were 0.279 μg·kg^-1 and 1.146 μg·kg， accounting for 27.9% and 114.6% of the daily tolerable intake of DON TDI， 1 μg·kg， respectively. The probability assessment results indicated that 6.1% of the whole population in Shanghai had DON exposure exceeding the TDI value. Among them， 12.8% of the population aged 6 years old and below， 16.4% of the population aged between 7 and 17 years old， 3.9% of the population aged between 18 and 59 years old and 3.2% of the population aged 60 years old and above exceeded the TDI value for daily DON exposure through wheat flour and its products.

Conclusion Certain populations in Shanghai may face certain health risks from daily DON intake wheat flour and its products. Special attention should be paid to the health risk of daily DON exposure through wheat flour and its products for individuals age below 18 years old.