Presence of Halogenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Milk Powder and the Consequence to Human Health

Recent reports of the presence of halogenated derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human foods of animal origin, such as chlorinated (ClPAHs) and brominated (BrPAHs) PAHs, suggest that their contamination in dairy products may also pose a human health risk. This study used GC/Orbitrap-MS to analyze 75 congeners of halogenated PAHs and parent PAHs in milk and creaming powder samples commonly found in grocery stores in Sri Lanka and Japan. Our investigation revealed a total of 31 halogenated PAHs (HPAHs) in the samples. The concentrations of total parent PAHs in the samples from Sri Lanka and Japan ranged from not detected (n.d.)–0.13 and <0.001–16 ng/g dry weight (d.w.). Total ClPAHs and BrPAHs in the samples ranged from 0.01–3.35 and 1.20–5.15 ng/g (d.w.) for Sri Lanka, and 0.04–2.54 and n.d.–2.03 ng/g d.w. for Japan, respectively. The ClPAHs were dominated by chlorinated-pyrene, -fluoranthene, and -benzo[a]pyrene congeners, whereas the BrPAHs were dominated by brominated-naphthalene and -pyrene congeners. The toxic assessment estimated based on the intake of toxic equivalency quotients (TEQs) for target compounds in milk powders revealed that HPAHs might contribute additively to the PAHs-associated health risk to humans, indicating that more research is needed.