Chloropropanols levels in foodstuffs marketed in Hong Kong

Chloropropanols, 3-monochloropropan-1,3-diol (3-MCPD) and 1,3-dichloropropanol (1,3-DCP), have been interested globally in recent years. 3-MCPD was also reported in food as a result of heat processing, as well as other processing or storage conditions. As such, 318 samples from different indigenous food items were collected from the retail market in Hong Kong and determined the content of the chloropropanols. Chloropropanols were not detected in most of the commonly consumed food items. 3-MCPD was found in 101 food samples (32%) with levels ranged from 3 to 66 μg/kg. Among others, the highest content of 3-MCPD was found in a snack sample, ready-to-eat seaweed, which has not been reported in other similar findings. Only 15 food samples (5%) were found to contain 1,3-DCP ranged from 1.0 to 9.5 μg/kg. An indigenous food, roasted pork, sample got the highest level of 1,3-DCP. This study also showed that cooking process of frying would produce higher levels of chloropropanols than steaming.