Rising concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Nigerian foodstuffs despite global restrictions

Yulong Ma; William A. Stubbings; Reginald Cline-Cole; Mohamed Abou Elwafa Abdallah; Stuart Harrad

doi:10.1016/j.emcon.2023.100264

Rising concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Nigerian foodstuffs despite global restrictions

Yulong Ma^*, William A. Stubbings, Reginald Cline-Cole, Mohamed Abou Elwafa Abdallah, Stuart Harrad

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

The presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in foodstuffs of African origin is poorly understood. To fill this gap, animal-derived food samples comprising 13 different items originally from Nigeria were obtained in 2021, and concentrations of novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) were measured. Arithmetic mean concentrations of NBFRs, PBDEs, and HBCDD in Nigerian foodstuffs were 2.1 ng/g (18 ng/g lipid weight (lw)), 1.3 ng/g (9.2 ng/g lw), and 0.42 ng/g (2.8 ng/g lw), with median concentrations of 1.7 ng/g (14 ng/g lw), 1.1 ng/g (8.2 ng/g lw), and <0.34 ng/g (<3.3 ng/g lw), respectively. Higher concentrations of NBFRs than of PBDEs and HBCDDs in Nigerian foodstuffs likely reflect use of NBFRs as substitutes for legacy BFRs in Nigeria. Comparison with previous dietary studies reveals rising concentrations of PBDEs in Nigerian foodstuffs in recent years with associated rises in dietary exposure, possibly due to active domestic use of PBDEs in Nigeria. Reassuringly, comparison of our exposure estimates with health-based limit values suggests adverse health effects of dietary intake of BFRs by Nigerians are unlikely to occur.

Original language	English
Article number	100264
Number of pages	6
Journal	Emerging Contaminants
Volume	10
Issue number	1
Early online date	21 Sept 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2023.100264
Publication status	Published - Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work is supported by the Global Challenges PhD Scholarship granted to Yulong Ma by the University of Birmingham.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

Keywords

Alternative flame retardants
BFRs
Dietary exposure
Food
Health risks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Toxicology
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.emcon.2023.100264Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

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Cite this

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title = "Rising concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Nigerian foodstuffs despite global restrictions",

abstract = "The presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in foodstuffs of African origin is poorly understood. To fill this gap, animal-derived food samples comprising 13 different items originally from Nigeria were obtained in 2021, and concentrations of novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) were measured. Arithmetic mean concentrations of NBFRs, PBDEs, and HBCDD in Nigerian foodstuffs were 2.1 ng/g (18 ng/g lipid weight (lw)), 1.3 ng/g (9.2 ng/g lw), and 0.42 ng/g (2.8 ng/g lw), with median concentrations of 1.7 ng/g (14 ng/g lw), 1.1 ng/g (8.2 ng/g lw), and <0.34 ng/g (<3.3 ng/g lw), respectively. Higher concentrations of NBFRs than of PBDEs and HBCDDs in Nigerian foodstuffs likely reflect use of NBFRs as substitutes for legacy BFRs in Nigeria. Comparison with previous dietary studies reveals rising concentrations of PBDEs in Nigerian foodstuffs in recent years with associated rises in dietary exposure, possibly due to active domestic use of PBDEs in Nigeria. Reassuringly, comparison of our exposure estimates with health-based limit values suggests adverse health effects of dietary intake of BFRs by Nigerians are unlikely to occur.",

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author = "Yulong Ma and Stubbings, {William A.} and Reginald Cline-Cole and Abdallah, {Mohamed Abou Elwafa} and Stuart Harrad",

note = "Funding Information: This work is supported by the Global Challenges PhD Scholarship granted to Yulong Ma by the University of Birmingham. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors",

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Rising concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Nigerian foodstuffs despite global restrictions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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