Sulfites in the Filipino Diet: A Dietary Exposure Assessment Using the Harmonized Philippine Food Consumption Database

Subject Areas : Journal of Chemical Health Risks

Elyss G. Billedo ¹ , Rose Elaine Guilaran ² , Avegail D. Apor ³ , Miszhah Faye M. Lipana ⁴ , Paola Bianca M. Buiser ⁵

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Received: 2024-01-05 Accepted : 2025-01-08 Published : 2025-01-19

Keywords: Risk assessment, Food additive, Food chemical hazard, Sulfite exposure,

Abstract :

This study aimed to update the current consumption database for dietary exposure assessment based on the 2019 browser version of FoodEx2 – the internationally recommended harmonization tool for food code assignment. The updated food consumption database was utilized to estimate the dietary exposure of Filipinos to sulfites, a widely used food additive. A total of 1,541 food items were re-coded using the new FoodEx2 catalog browser. The dietary exposure assessment indicated that Filipinos’ sulfite exposure varies from 27% to 109% of the Allowable Daily Intake (0.7 mg kg^-1) for mean and high-level per capita consumption, respectively. Water-based beverages were the main contributor to sulfite exposure across all ages and gender groups. In general, infants and children were highly exposed to sulfites compared with the adults due to their relatively low average body weight. An internationally harmonized national food consumption database in the Philippines was therefore developed, which can provide detailed food information that can assist in facilitating the national, regional, and international agricultural and food programs of food safety.

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