Perchlorate an Emerging Contaminant in Foodstuff and Environment

Abstract

Iftekhar Ahmed Mohammed Rafi, Vaidehi Garimella and Fatema Saeed

Perchlorate has been categorized as a potential contaminant and is a stable, hydrophilic, anionic, chlorine-oxidized sub- stance, which is ubiquitous pollutant in various types of foodstuffs, drinking water and environment. In the past, there has been an increase in anthropogenic activities which lead to perchlorates in the Environment. They have raised great con- cerns due to potential adverse effects on human thyroid functions which have been recently categorized as a hazardous substance. Dietary intake is considered as the predominant pathway for human exposure to perchlorate. Nevertheless, data on human exposure to these hazardous chemicals remain limited and their entry into the food chain has not been clearly identified, particularly for the most vulnerable populations such as infants. In this study, 103 samples were col- lected from the local market of Dubai which includes 39 fruit and vegetables, 21 dried spices, 19 cereals & infant formula and 23 dried herbs. The levels of perchlorate were measured in these samples by using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (UPLC-MSMS) after extraction with 1 % v/v acetic acid in water (for water, juices) & 1 % v/v acetic acid in water and acetonitrile (for milk, infant formula, low moisture foods and fruits & vegetables. Perchlorate was detected in 28% of total measured samples and about 2% of samples were found to be non-compliant. The average mean concentrations of perchlorate were 9.3 μg/kg in fruit and vegetables, 22 μg/kg in dried spices and 22.2 μg/kg in dried herbs respectively, while perchlorate was non-detected in cereals and infant formula. The findings suggest that perchlorate contamination in the samples tested may not be an immediate health issue, yet testing for perchlorate should continuously be conducted. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such study done at DCL for investigating perchlorate exposure in the gulf region. Consumers are advised to maintain a healthy diet and eat a variety of foods across all food groups daily.

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