Dietary exposure of Hong Kong adults to fatty acid esters of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol

A total of 290 individual food samples were collected in Hong Kong, China, for 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) fatty acid esters analysis. Most samples were processed food and in ready-to-eat form. The results show that the levels of 3-MCPD fatty acid esters were high in biscuits, fats and oils, snacks and Chinese pastry with mean bound 3-MCPD levels of 440, 390, 270 and 270 μg kg^?1, respectively. The dietary exposures to bound 3-MCPD of average and high adult consumers were estimated to be 0.20 and 0.53 μg kg bw^?1 day^?1, respectively. The primary toxicological concern of 3-MCPD fatty acid esters is its potential to release 3-MCPD in vivo during digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. 3-MCPD would affect the kidney, the central nervous system and the male reproductive system of rats. Assuming that 100% of the 3-MCPD was released from 3-MCPD fatty acid esters by hydrolysis in the digestive system, the dietary exposures to 3-MCPD for average and high adult consumers were only 10% and 26% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 3-MCPD established by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) (2 μg kg bw^?1 day^?1), respectively. The results suggest that both average and high adult consumers are unlikely to experience major toxicological effects of 3-MCPD.