Investigation on Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins, Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans and Dioxin-like Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Korean Fruits and Dietary Intake Estimation

Contamination levels of 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs)/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) were investigated on six major fruits consumed in Korea. Dioxin level was monitored on whole fruits. Average concentrations of PCDD/Fs were 0.042 pg/g fresh weight (f.w.) (apple), 0.0094 pg/g f.w. (grape), 0.1843 pg/g f.w. (mandarin orange), 0.2282 pg/g f.w. (peach), 0.1491 pg/g f.w. (pear), and 0.1330 pg/g f.w. (persimmon). For DL-PCBs, the average concentrations were 0.0932 pg/g f.w. (apple), 0.2649 pg/g f.w. (grape), 1.5437 pg/g f.w. (mandarin orange), 0.1942 pg/g f.w. (peach), 0.4591 pg/g f.w. (pear), and 0.4396 pg/g f.w. (persimmon). The major toxic equivalency (TEQ) contributors were identified as 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in PCDD and 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran in PCDFs. Most residual DL-PCBs showed no contribution to total TEQ values. The lowest TEQ level was recorded in peach (0.0161 pg-TEQ(WHO)/g f.w.), and the highest TEQ level was found in mandarin orange (0.0448 pg-TEQ(WHO)/g f.w.). Total estimated daily intake (EDI) of dioxins from the six fruits was calculated at 3.8159 pg-TEQ(WHO)/day, which is 1.59% of Korean tolerable daily intake based on 60 kg body weight.