Assessment of polychlorinated naphthalenes in Korean foods: Levels, profiles, and dietary intake

Concerns about dioxin-like compounds have increased; however, the monitoring of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in food and the assessment of dietary intake remain limited. In this study, various foods were collected from Korean markets and analyzed for PCNs. Fishery products exhibited the highest mean concentration (48.0 pg/g ww) and toxic equivalent (TEQ) (0.0185 pg-TEQ/g ww). Agricultural products were the largest contributors (35.7%) to the total dietary intake of PCN_TEQ, followed by livestock products (33.6%), fishery products (20.2%), and processed foods (10.5%). The mean intake of PCN_TEQ for the Korean population was 0.901 pg-TEQ/day for males and 0.601 pg-TEQ/day for females. Generally, males and younger groups had higher daily intakes of PCN_TEQ, but they did not exceed the tolerable weekly intakes. Nonetheless, it is important to manage potential health risks associated with PCNs and other dioxin-like compounds by identifying major food items contributing to PCN exposure and considering age and gender differences.