Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mycotoxins, and pesticides residues in coffee: a probabilistic assessment of risk to health

ABSTRACT

In this study, we assessed health risk posed by oral exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mycotoxins (MTs), and pesticides residues in coffee samples collected from Iran market, using a probabilistic model. Levels of contaminants in 150 imported coffee samples were determined using Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry with triple quadrupole and ion trap. The maximum and minimum mean levels of PAHs were found in samples from country A (20.78 ± 3.11 µg/kg dry mass (dm)) and F (13.00 ± 2.21 µg/kg dm), respectively. For pesticides, the lowest and highest levels were found in samples from country A (322.90 ± 11.05 µg/kg dm) and F (501.20 ± 14.73 µg/kg dm), respectively. Concerning MTs, samples from countries F showed the highest (56.43 ± 5.80 µg/kg dm) while those from country C showed the lowest (41.10 ± 4.31 µg/kg dm) mean concentrations. Carcinogenic risk assessment in terms of incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) and margins of exposure (MoEs) indicated that at the 50^th, 75^th and 95^th centiles, PAHs posed no risks to Iranian consumers’ health. Our % Tolerable daily intake (TDI) calculation showed that at the 50th, 75th, and 95th centiles, oral exposure to MTs residue through coffee consumption may lead to a small (<1%) daily intake of ochratoxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, patulin, fumonisin B1, and fumonisin B2; however, for aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 a % TDI >1 was observed at these centiles. The hazard index (HIs) values for pesticides residue indicated de minimis risks.

KEYWORDS:

• Coffee
• health risk assessment
• mycotoxins
• pesticides residues
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was supported by Elite Researcher Grant Committee under award number 995699 from the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD), Tehran, Iran. Seyedeh Faezeh Taghizadeh was partially supported by a grant from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (No. FUM-40949). The research was supported by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Project # 326415-07) and a grant from the Western Economic Diversification Canada (Project # 6578, 6807 and 000012711). The authors wish to acknowledge the support of an instrumentation grant from the Canada Foundation for Infrastructure. The research published in this paper is part of the project titled “Next generation solutions to ensure healthy water resources for future generations” funded by the Global Water Futures program, Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Additional information is available at www.globalwaterfutures.ca. Prof. Giesy was supported by the Canada Research Chair program, and a Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University in Waco, TX, USA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).