Ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages from China: Levels, dietary intake, and risk assessment

- The dietary exposure to EC from alcoholic beverages were established.
- A total of 890 Chinese rice wines samples were analyzed and estimated for EC.
- EC from alcoholic beverages would be of low potential health concern in China.
- A relatively high health risk of EC exposure in Chinese rice wines was observed.

A national survey of ethyl carbamate (EC) in alcoholic beverages from the fourth and fifth Chinese total diet study (TDS) performed in 2007 and 2009 was conducted for the first time. Alcoholic beverages samples were collected from 16 provinces representing the average dietary patterns of various provinces of China and covering about 60% of the total Chinese population. The results showed that the average EC level in alcoholic beverages (19.8 μg/kg) in the fifth TDS was higher than that of the fourth TDS (8.5 μg/kg). The dietary intake of EC from the Chinese population was estimated to be 8.27 ng/kg bw per day for average population and 45.67 ng/kg bw per day for high consumers (the 97.5th percentile) in the fifth TDS. The average and high-end estimated daily intakes of EC for the alcoholic beverages were both lower than estimated daily intake (EDI) value (80 ng/kg bw per day) suggested by JECFA, indicating low health risk of EC dietary exposure among Chinese adults at present.The Chinese rice wines, as a kind of traditional fermented alcoholic beverages in China, has a high level of EC and an obvious consumption regional disparity, thus the health risk of EC in Chinese rice wines should be of concern. To estimate the daily intake of EC from Chinese rice wines consumed in China, 890 Chinese rice wines samples including 468 commercial wines and 422 base wines were collected from various regions. The distribution of EC varied significantly among 468 commercial wines, ranging from 6.3 to 775.8 μg/L (mean: 232.9 μg/L). Based on the intake data for Chinese rice wines from the food consumption survey, the daily intake of EC was estimated to be 290.6 ng/kg bw per day for average consumers and 1848.4 ng/kg bw per day for high consumers (the 97.5th percentile). In this study, the estimated daily intake of EC for Chinese rice wines in China was far higher than EDI value suggested by JECFA indicating that Chinese rice wines were the main exposure origin of EC in alcoholic beverages. Health risk assessment of EC using a margin of exposure (MOE) approach recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) suggested unlikely health concern with respect to current dietary intake of EC for alcoholic beverages in China. However, a relatively high health risk of EC dietary exposure in Chinese rice wines was observed in some provinces. Therefore, some adapted strategies should be developed and used in industrial scale to control the level of EC for Chinese rice wines.