Occurrence of 3-monochloropropanediol esters and glycidyl esters in commercial infant formulas in the United States. 2017

Jessica Leigh, and Shaun MacMahon
a Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition , United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) , College Park , MD , USA.

This work presents occurrence data for fatty acid esters of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) and glycidol in 98 infant formula samples purchased in the United States. These contaminants are considered potentially carcinogenic and/or genotoxic, making their presence in refined oils and foods a potential health risk. Recently, attention has focused on methodology to quantify MCPD and glycidyl esters in infant formula for risk-assessment purposes. Occurrence data for 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters were produced using a procedure for extracting fat from infant formula and an LC-MS/MS method for analysing fat extracts for intact esters. Infant formulas were produced by seven manufacturers, five of which use palm oil and/or palm olein in their formulations. In formulas containing palm/palm olein, concentrations for bound 3-MCPD and glycidol ranged from 0.021 to 0.92 mg kg-1 (ppm) and from < LOQ to 0.40 mg kg-1 (ppm), respectively. Formulas not containing palm/palm olein, bound 3-MCPD and glycidol concentrations ranged from 0.072 to 0.16 mg kg-1 (ppm) and from 0.005 to 0.15 mg kg-1 (ppm), respectively. Although formulas from manufacturers A and G did not contain palm/palm olein, formulas from manufacturer E (containing palm olein) had the lowest concentrations of bound 3-MCPD and glycidol, demonstrating the effectiveness of industrial mitigation strategies.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D004852 Epoxy Compounds Organic compounds that include a cyclic ether with three ring atoms in their structure. They are commonly used as precursors for POLYMERS such as EPOXY RESINS. Epoxide,Epoxides,Epoxy Compound,Oxiranes,Compound, Epoxy,Compounds, Epoxy
D004952 Esters Compounds derived from organic or inorganic acids in which at least one hydroxyl group is replaced by an –O-alkyl or another organic group. They can be represented by the structure formula RCOOR’ and are usually formed by the reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water. Ester
D005506 Food Contamination The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage. Food Adulteration,Adulteration, Food,Adulterations, Food,Contamination, Food,Contaminations, Food,Food Adulterations,Food Contaminations
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000517 alpha-Chlorohydrin A chlorinated PROPANEDIOL with antifertility activity in males used as a chemosterilant in rodents. alpha-Chlorhydrin,3-Chloro-1,2-propanediol,3-Chloropropanediol,3-MCPD,3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol,Glycerol alpha-Monochlorohydrin,U-5897,3 Chloro 1,2 propanediol,3 Chloropropanediol,3 Monochloropropane 1,2 diol,Glycerol alpha Monochlorohydrin,U 5897,U5897,alpha Chlorhydrin,alpha Chlorohydrin,alpha-Monochlorohydrin, Glycerol
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D041943 Infant Formula Formulations for the nutrition of infants that are substituted for BREAST MILK. Baby Formula,Baby Formulas,Formula, Baby,Formula, Infant,Formulas, Baby,Formulas, Infant,Infant Formulas
D020005 Propanols Isomeric forms and derivatives of PROPANOL (C3H7OH). Alcohols, Propyl,Propyl Alcohols

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