标题：Effect on public health of a possible increase of the maximum level for ‘aflatoxin total’ from 4 to 10 μg/kg in peanuts and processed products thereof, intended for direct human consumption or use as an ingredient in foodstuffs
摘要：Abstract EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion regarding the effect on public health of a possible increase of the maximum level ( ML ) for ‘aflatoxin total’ ( AFT ; sum of aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1 and aflatoxin G2) from 4 to 10 μg/kg in peanuts and processed products thereof. Aflatoxins are genotoxic and cause hepatocellular carcinomas in humans. The Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain ( CONTAM Panel) evaluated 8,085 samples of peanuts and 472 samples of peanut butter, with 60% left‐censored. The mean concentration of AFT in peanuts was 2.65/3.56 μg/kg (lower bound ( LB )/upper bound ( UB )) with a maximum of 1,429 μg/kg. The mean concentration in peanut butter was 1.47/1.92 μg/kg ( LB / UB ) with a maximum of 407 μg/kg. Peanut oil was not included since all data were left‐censored and the ML does not apply for oil. Exposure was calculated for a ‘Current ML ’ and ‘Increased ML ’ scenario, and mean chronic exposure estimates for consumers only, amounted to 0.04–2.74 ng/kg body weight (bw) per day and 0.07–4.28 ng/kg bw per day, respectively. The highest exposures were calculated for adolescents and other children. The CONTAM Panel used the cancer potencies estimated by the Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives for the risk characterisation. Under the scenario of the current ML , the cancer risk was estimated to range between 0.001 and 0.213 aflatoxin‐induced cancers per 100,000 person years. Under the scenario of the increased ML , it ranged between 0.001 and 0.333 aflatoxin‐induced cancers per 100,000 person years. Comparing these data calculated under the current ML scenario with the yearly excess cancer risk of 0.014 shows a higher risk for consumers of peanuts and peanut butter in some surveys. The calculated cancer risks indicate that an increase of the ML would further increase the risk by a factor of 1.6–1.8.
关键词：aflatoxin;peanuts;occurrence;exposure;maximum level (ML);public health
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