Assessment of dietary intake of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls from the Chinese Total Diet Study in 2011

• Dietary intake for adults was below the PTMI indicating low health risk in China.
• Large variations of dioxin level and dietary intake were found among regions.
• Increasing exposure was found in some regions partly due to rising contamination.

The concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) as well as dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) were measured in food samples from the fifth Chinese Total Diet Study (TDS) performed in 2011. A total of 152 composite samples from various food groups were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometer (HRGC–HRMS). The dietary intakes of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs were subsequently estimated for the adult from various regions in China. The mean dietary intake of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs was 20.1 pg TEQ kg−1 bw month−1 (WHO-TEF of 1998) within a range of 4.2 pg TEQ kg−1 bw month−1 to 53.7 pg TEQ kg−1 bw month−1 which were all much lower than the provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) established by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). By comparing with results from previous Chinese TDS, a decline of the average dietary intake was observed from 2000 to 2011, but a notable elevation was observed in some regions partly stem from increasing contamination levels in certain foods.