Chronic dietary risk assessment of Nitrates at FoodEx2

Nitrates are formed from fertilizers, decaying plants, manure and other organic residues. Nitrates can be found in the air, soil, water and food (particularly in vegetables). The presence of nitrates in vegetables, as in water and generally in food, is a serious threat to human health because is converted in saliva and the gastrointestinal tract to the toxic nitrite and other N-nitroso compounds, that can lead to severe pathologies in humans. The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for nitrate established is of 3.7 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day.
In the current report the dietary exposure of the target population is studied using ImproRisk model v.0.3.2. The aim of this risk assessment study was to estimate the dietary nitrate (NO3-) intake of the population in Cyprus, to compare this exposure estimate with the ADI and to calculate the contribution rate of the major food groups to the dietary NO3- exposure.
Mean dietary Nitrates exposure of the Cypriot population was calculated as 647 and 1709 μg/kg b.w. per day for mean and high consumers, respectively. It was found that only 0.6 % of the whole population was exposed over the ADI value of 3700 μg/Kg b.w. per day. Much higher exposure was observed for infants and toddlers due to their lower body weight and may be from the consumption of food prepared by fresh vegetables at home.
Potatoes (23.6%), Lettuces, salads (21.6%), Aromatic herbs, such as parsley, mint, dill, (15.1%), Spinach leaves (10.3%) were the food categories with the highest contribution to the Nitrates intake. Drinking water has also important contribution to Nitrates intake.