Exposure of general population to PBDEs: A Progressive Total Diet Study in South Korea

• Investigated PBDE levels in Korean foods completely based on cooked or edible raw samples.
• Preliminary assessed the fate of PBDEs during cooking processes.
• Evidence of high deca-BDE contamination in some foods was found.
• Dietary PBDE intake of Korean was estimated to be 1.00 ng kg−1 bw d−1.
• The 19–39 year old group Korean consumed the highest PBDE amount from dietary.

This study assessed the level of 24 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Korean foods following a Progressive Total Diet Study (TDS). The experiments comprised 96 types of dietetically representative foods, all were either cooked or edible raw. PBDEs were widely encountered in foodstuffs with the highest concentration in plant oils, fishes and shellfishes. Of all congeners tested for, BDE-47 was the most predominant and encountered in almost all food items except meats. The presence of nona-BDEs at significant levels indicated that Korean environments are still contaminated by deca-BDE. The daily dietary intake of PBDEs was estimated to be 63 ng d−1. The highest PBDEs intake was observed in the 19–39 year old group and gradually decreased as age increased. Our study suggests that the TDS approach using foods in the table-ready form should be used for a better estimation of dietary exposure to PBDEs.