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The co-occurrence of food contaminants has caught the public concern worldwide owing to their extensive distribution and the potential risk on human health. In this study, a total of 6471 samples of cereals and cereal-based products was collected from Shanghai between 2008 and 2011. The food contaminants co-occurred, including mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A), pesticides (organic phosphorus pesticides and methyl bromide), heavy metals (cadmium, lead, and inorganic arsenic), and food additives (aluminum and food pigments), were analyzed for their contents. The point evaluation and probabilistic evaluation based on the Monte Carlo model were performed to assess the risks of the contaminants. The results showed the mean levels of all the tested contaminants were lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) set by China, except aluminum, exceeding China MRLs of 100 mg/kg in 2010 and 2011. The point evaluation showed the mean daily exposures (40.7–63.9 ng/kg bw/day) of ochratoxin A in 2010 for different consumer groups were higher than the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) of 17 ng/kg bw/day recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Meanwhile, the mean daily exposures of the tested contaminants in each year for 7-to-10-year old children were higher than those for adults. The probabilistic evaluation indicated that the margin of safety (MOS) values of the tested contaminants at percentile 95th (P95) were lower than 1, except aluminum, suggesting the potential health risk of aluminum intake to the consumer groups in Shanghai. Additionally, the risk ranking of these contaminants in cereals and cereal-based products was obtained as follows: aluminum > deoxynivalenol > ochratoxin A > inorganic arsenic > cadmium > lead > chlorpyrifos-methyl > malathion. • Co-occurrence of multiclass contaminants in cereal-based food was investigated. • Point evaluation and probability evaluation were utilized for the risk assessment. • Risk ranking of multiclass contaminants in cereal-based food was performed. • Aluminum intake posed the potential health risk for Shanghai inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary intake is a major pathway of human exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Livestock and poultry meats (chicken, beef, mutton) account for a significant proportion of dietary consumption in China, and thus it is crucial to investigate the levels and composition profiles of PFCs in consumer meats to assess and mitigate potential health risks. However, rapid and simple analytical methods for such investigations are lacking. This study addresses this shortcoming by developing a rapid filtration clean-up method using carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CMWCNTs) for the detection of 14 PFCs. Good linearities (R2 > 0.99) were obtained for all 14 PFCs in chicken, beef, and mutton. Recoveries ranged from 65 to 145% (except perfluorotetradecanoic acid, PFTeDA) with relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 16%. Method limits of detection (LODs) were between 0.12 and 0.83 ng g−1d.w. Subsequently, this method was applied for the analysis of 46 livestock and poultry meat samples collected from markets in Shanghai. PFCs were detected in all samples with total concentrations of 1.61–4.27 ng g−1 wet weight (w.w) in chicken, 1.51–5.56 ng g−1 w.w in beef and 1.61–8.15 ng g−1 w.w in mutton. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) were the predominant compounds in these samples and accounted for over 92% of ΣPFCs. For regulated compounds such as PFOA, risk quotients (RQs) were determined to be much lower than 1. This suggests that chicken, beef, and mutton from Shanghai market pose very low PFC exposure risk to residents. However, high detection frequency of the unregulated PFBA demands further investigation of short-chain PFCs in consumer meats. [Display omitted] • Livestock and poultry meats is a major pathway of human exposure to PFCs. • Lack of rapid and simple methods to detect PFCs in consumer meats. • A m -PFC cleanup method based on CMWCNTs was developed to fast detect 14 PFCs in meats. • PFBA was firstly examined in consumer meats and was the most abundant congener. • Chicken, beef, and mutton from Shanghai markets were generally low PFC exposure risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]