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p ‐Cymene, a natural antioxidant, in Canadian total diet foods: occurrence and dietary exposures
Author(s) -
Cao XuLiang,
Sparling Melissa,
Dabeka Robert
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.9854
Subject(s) - p cymene , food science , food additive , chemistry , antioxidant , toxicology , biology , organic chemistry , ruthenium , catalysis
BACKGROUND There is a lack of information on the presence of volatile organic compounds including p ‐cymene in foods for dietary exposure assessment. p ‐Cymene is a monoterpene found in many plant species, which has been used as a flavouring agent in foods and also exhibits antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. While the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has no safety concerns at current levels of intake when used as a flavouring, the current study examines p ‐cymene levels in foods in general, not just from possible uses as a flavouring, as there could still be a potential health concern if there were high levels of exposure. RESULTS 159 food composite samples from the 2014 Canadian Total Diet Study were analysed for p ‐cymene using a gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric method after headspace solid‐phase microextraction. Concentrations of p ‐cymene in the composite samples of most food types were generally low, with a maximum level of 73.5 μg g −1 , detected in the composite sample of herbs and spices. Dietary exposures to p ‐cymene were estimated for different age groups of Canadian populations. CONCLUSIONS Although p ‐cymene was detected in various foods, estimated dietary exposures to p ‐cymene for different age groups are well below the human intake threshold of toxicological concern established by JECFA of 1800 μg per person per day for structural class I flavours, which includes p ‐cymene. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry