Risk assessment of 3-MCPD esters and glycidyl esters from the formulas for infants and young children up to 36 months of age

Esters of 2-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (2-MCPD), 3- monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), and glycidol are present in infant formulas, follow-on foods and similar compositions. They arise mainly from the vegetable oil content and may cause harmful effects in consumers. The contents of these substances in formulas were determined indirectly by converting the esters to the free form, followed by derivatization and analysis by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The validation results demonstrate that the method had sufficient specificity and adequate accuracy. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) for each of 2­MCPDE, 3­MCPDE, and GE were 1.5 and 5 µg/kg, respectively. Formula intake by children up to 36 months of age was surveyed, and the data was used to assess the risks due to 3-MCPD esters (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl esters (GE). The mean exposure dose of 3-MCPDE for different age groups ranged from 0.51 to 1.13 µg/kg bw per day. The corresponding mean GE exposure ranged from 0.031 to 0.069 µg/kg bw per day. Neither mean values nor the percentile 95% values of 3-MCPDE exposure doses exceed the recommended provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI).