Infant exposure to parabens, triclosan, and triclocarban via breastfeeding and formula supplementing in southern China

Parabens, triclosan (TCS), and triclocarban (TCC) are antimicrobial additives that are widely used in personal care products (PCPs) and may dysregulate infant gut microbiota and induce a series of chronic diseases. Dietary intake may be an underestimated exposure route of such antimicrobial additives in infants, but relevant data remain scarce. Therefore, this study determined five common preservatives, including methyl- (MeP), ethyl- (EtP), propyl- (PrP), butyl- (BuP), and benzyl-paraben (BeP), and two antimicrobials TCS and TCC, in major infant food sources (breastmilk, milk-based infant formula [MIF], and cereal-based complementary food [CCF]) in southern China. The health risks associated with dietary exposure among infants across different months of age were also evaluated. The results demonstrated a high incidence of MeP, EtP, PrP, and BeP in processed infant food products, while TCS and TCC were mainly detected in maternal breastmilk. Notably, MeP and EtP were found in all of the MIFs tested, while MeP, EtP, and BeP were detected in 85.6 %-100 % of the CCFs. By incorporating the human equivalent dose and an additional 10-fold margin of safety for infants into the health risk assessment, the 95th percentile hazard quotient of PrP via the ingestion of breastmilk among neonates exceeded 1. For the first time, the results showed that exposure to PrP via breastmilk intake may pose a considerable health risk to urban neonates in southern China. The health risks caused by antimicrobial exposure via ingesting MIF and CCF among infants were negligible. Thus, we recommend breastfeeding women reduce their consumption of PCPs and processed food, especially during the first month after delivery.