3. FOOD ChEMISTRy & bIOTEChNOLOGy 3.1. Lectures

Chem. Listy, 102, s265–s1311 (2008) Food Chemistry & Biotechnology
Fig. 6. Comparison of measured overall dietary exposure doses
of total mercury and levels measured in blood (point estimate)
tor of possible exposure to MeHg in this case. Other groups
of foods are not of so important for exposure of the Czech
population.
The estimate of the dietary exposure from the most
significant samples (sea fish) show tends to increase. This
tendency to increase may be due to the trend of growing
consumption this commodity given by development of business
and import from seaside countries. The monitoring also
showed an increasing tendency for the dietary exposure to
mercury which was in correspondence with the levels of mercury
in human blood in the same period. In the Fig. 5. are
included data found for adult. The same trend can be seen for
children too.
Conclusion
The content of total mercury in the samples of the food
basket of the Czech Republic has been monitored since 1994.
Produced data enabled the calculation of both - the exposure
dose coming from individual samples and the total dietary
exposure dose. The average value of the total dietary exposure
in the period 1994–2007 is 0.0126 μg kg –1 b.w. day –1 It
represents 0.0882 μg kg –1 b.w. week –1 .
In 1978 the FAO/WHO JECFA evaluated total mercury
and set PTWI at 5 μg kg –1 b.w. week –1 from which
MeHg should not be higher than 3.3 μg kg –1 b.w. week –1 .
US EPA defined RfD 0.1 μg kg –1 b.w. day –1 . PTWI set by
FAO/WHO JECFA for MeHg was revised into 1,6 μg kg –1
b.w. week –1 (ref .9,10,11 ) in June 2003. According to longitudinal
monitoring results it was proved that average value of
overall dietary exposure to total mercury has not been breaking
toxicological reference points set by FAO/WHO JECFA
or US EPA in none of different population groups in the
Czech Republic. Potentially risky groups are children and
pregnant women or nursing mothers due to highest sensitivity
of embryo/neonates in combination with dietary habit
involving highly contaminated kinds of fish (mainly predator
fish meat). Therefore it is important regularly evaluate dietary
habit of the Czech population, analyse possible food sources
of (at least) total mercury and do relevant advices to consumers.
We should not forget that hazard of mercury in fish is
s779
in unknown extent balanced by benefits of some important
nutrients coming from that food sources.
REFEREnCES
1. Masazumi Harada, M.D., Ph.D.: Minamata Disease and
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2. Ruprich J., řehůřková I., Dofková M., in: .Environmental
Health Monitoring System in the Czech Republic
(Denková P., Puklová V., ed.), chapter VII, p. 58. national
Institute of Public Health, Prague 2004.
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