Results of study on dietary exposure to antimony

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (January 5) released the results of a study on dietary exposure to the chemical, antimony, and the assessment of the associated health risks.

The Centre's Consultant (Community Medicine) (Risk Assessment and Communication), Dr Ho Yuk-yin, said that 300 food samples were taken for analysis. They included six major food groups -- cereals and cereal products; vegetables; fruits; meat, poultry, egg and their products; seafood; and dairy products.

The results showed that antimony was not detected in most of the food samples. Even those with antimony had only contained trace amounts, at levels ranging from 1 to 9 μg/kg.

"Such levels are well below the level of antimony (1000 μg/kg) set for most foods, such as cereals, meat, poultry and eggs, under the law," Dr Ho said.

Although rice has a relatively low level of antimony (average: 1 μg/kg), because it was consumed in large amounts, it was the largest contributor to total dietary exposure to antimony.

Dr Ho said that apart from food, people may also be exposed to antimony in the air and drinking water owing to the fact that antimony could be present in the environment via weathering of rocks and runoff from soils, as well as industrial activities.

Dr Ho said that to assess the associated health risk, the CFS used the food consumption data from a survey conducted previously among about 1,000 local secondary school students.

"Results showed that the daily dietary exposure to antimony for an average secondary school student was estimated to be 0.036 μg/kg, while that for the high consumer was 0.081 μg/kg. Both levels fell well below the tolerable daily intake of 6 μg/kg established by the World Health Organisation," he said.

"The study revealed that antimony exposure through food consumption should not pose any adverse health effects.

"The results of this assessment provide local data on dietary exposure to antimony. This would facilitate planning for risk management, including prioritising resources in food surveillance activities," he said.

Dr Ho appealed to the food trade to observe good agricultural and manufacturing practices to minimise antimony contaminations in food. People are also advised to maintain a balanced diet.

To obtain more information about the study, please see the full report on the CFS website, http://www.cfs.gov.hk/eindex.html.

Ends/Friday, January 5, 2007