Simões, CátiaMendes, SusanaMartins, AliceGil, Maria M.2021-08-232021-08-232020Cátia Simões, Susana Mendes, Alice Martins, Maria M. Gil, Risk assessment of trihalomethanes exposure by consumption of IV gamma products: Evidences from a Portuguese regional survey, Toxicology Reports, Volume 7, 2020, Pages 288-295, ISSN 2214-7500, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.01.019.2214-7500http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/6138Authors are very grateful to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) for the financial support of this work through the projects UID/MAR/04292/2019, attributed to MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal. This work was also partially funded by the Integrated Programme of SR&TD “SmartBioR” (reference Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018) co-funded by Centro 2020 program, Portugal2020, European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund. We also acknowledge Engª Georgina Sarmento and Dr. Ana Cruz, from LAIST, for lab facilities and technical support related to THMs analysis.Due to the current demand for healthier food, the IV gamma products industry has grown over the years. Additionally, it is well known that chlorine is a disinfectant largely used in this industry. However, the risk assessment associated with the formation of carcinogenic by-products from this halogenated disinfection has not been widely studied. The aim of this study was to assess the trihalomethanes (THMs) exposure through the consumption of IV gamma products, more specifically, salad mixes, and potential health risk in Portuguese population using a deterministic method. The quantification of THMs in salad mixes from the most representative Portuguese brands was performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The THMs exposures were estimated by combining the THMs concentration data with a ready-to-eat salad mix consumption survey (case study applied in the Lisboa e Vale do Tejo area; n = 271). The concentration of THMs in all samples was below the limit of quantification of the equipment (1 μg/L), and this limit was used for the evaluation of the exposure. It was found that it is very small for the consumption pattern of these products in the studied population categories, suggesting that there is no risk for consumers due to the halogenated disinfection process. The highest estimated daily exposure was 7,65X10−5 mg/ kg bw/ week, which corresponds to a person who consumes such products daily.engTrihalomethanesFood safetyExposureChlorine disinfectionReady-to-eat vegetablesIV gamma productsjournal article10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.01.019