Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
'Boden Food Plate': Novel Interactive Web-based Method for the Assessment of Dietary Intake
Published on: September 18, 2018
[Estimation of daily intake of PCDDs, PCDFs and Co-PCBs from baby foods]
Takeo Sasamoto1, Harumi Tatebe, Yumiko Yamaki
1Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health: 3-24-1, Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0073, Japan.
Insights
Infants in Tokyo consume dioxins (PCDDs, PCDFs, Co-PCBs) through baby food, with intake increasing during weaning. Daily dioxin intake remains below Japan
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Food Safety
- Pediatric Nutrition
Background:
- Dioxins, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs), are persistent organic pollutants.
- Dietary exposure to dioxins is a concern, particularly for vulnerable populations such as infants undergoing weaning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the dietary intake of dioxins through baby foods in the metropolitan Tokyo area.
- To evaluate dioxin intake across different infant weaning stages.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of dioxin content in both homemade and commercial baby foods using the total diet-market basket and duplicate portion methods, respectively.
- Calculation of daily dioxin intake per kilogram of body weight for infants at various weaning stages.
Main Results:
- Daily dioxin intake per kg body weight increased with weaning progress: 0.32 pg TEQ/kg/day (early), 0.45 pg TEQ/kg/day (intermediate), 0.58 pg TEQ/kg/day (late), and 1.25 pg TEQ/kg/day (completed).
- All measured daily intakes were below the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 4 pg TEQ/kg/day established in Japan.
- Formula milk was the primary source of dioxins in the early weaning stage, shifting to protein-based foods in later stages.
Conclusions:
- Infant dietary exposure to dioxins from baby foods in Tokyo is below the established TDI.
- The primary dietary sources of dioxins for infants change from formula milk to protein-based foods as weaning progresses.
Abstract:
A study of the dietary intake of dioxins, consisting of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) through baby foods in the metropolitan Tokyo area was carried out. The samples were homemade baby foods prepared by the total diet-market basket method and baby foods (mainly commercial items) prepared by the duplicate portion method. The daily intake of dioxins per kg of body weight from baby foods in each weaning stage for the case of half intake of homemade baby foods and the other half of mainly commercial items was 0.32 pg TEQ/kg/day in the early stage, 0.45 pg TEQ/kg/day in the intermediate stage, 0.58 pg TEQ/kg/day in the late stage and 1.25 pg TEQ/kg/day in the completed stage. While the daily intakes increase with the weaning progress, they were less than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 4 pg TEQ/kg/day for dioxins established in Japan. Dioxins were mainly taken through formula milk in early stage of weaning period, but then were taken through protein-based foods in the subsequent weaning stage.
