Dietary exposure to perchlorate in the European population

A study by the EFSA found a relatively high occurrence of perchlorate in certain food products. The potentially harmful chemical compound can potentially cause endocrine system and reproductive problems and is considered a “likely human carcinogen” by the EPA. The products which were found to contain relatively large amounts of perchlorate were dried products, like tea and herbs for infusion (324µg/kg), herbs, spices and condiments (63µg/kg), and in some fresh vegetables, like radishes (117µg/kg), rucola (75µg/kg) and fresh spinach (132µg/kg). During their study of human exposure to the chemical compound, the researchers took into account occurrence data in the EFSA database from samples taken after 1 September 2013. A data set of 18,217 analytical results provided by governmental organisations of 16 European countries was available. Some data were also provided by food business operators.