Fluoride Content of Ready-to-Eat Infant Foods and Drinks in Australia

Navira Chandio, James Rufus John, Shaan Floyd, Emily Gibson, Danny K. Y. Wong, Steven M. Levy, Judy R. Heilman and Amit Arora ()
Additional contact information
Navira Chandio: Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
James Rufus John: Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, Sydney, NSW 2560, Australia
Shaan Floyd: School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Emily Gibson: School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Danny K. Y. Wong: School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Steven M. Levy: College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Judy R. Heilman: College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Amit Arora: Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-9

Abstract: The use of fluoride is effective in preventing dental caries. However, an excessive intake of fluoride leads to dental fluorosis, making it necessary to regularly monitor the fluoride intake especially for infants. There is hitherto a lack of information on fluoride content in infant foods from an Australian perspective. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the amount of fluoride content from a range of commercially available ready-to-eat (RTE) infant foods and drinks available in Australia. Based on an external calibration method, potentiometry involving a fluoride ion selective electrode and a silver|silver chloride reference electrode was conducted to analyse the fluoride content of a total of 326 solid food samples and 49 liquid food samples in this work. Our results showed an overall median (range) fluoride content of 0.16 (0.001–2.8) µg F/g of solid food samples, and 0.020 (0.002–1.2) µg F/mL of liquid food samples. In addition, ~77.5% of the liquid samples revealed a fluoride content < 0.05% µg F/mL. The highest variation of fluoride concentration (0.014–0.92 µg F/g) was found in formulas for ≥6 month-old infants. We have attributed the wide fluoride content variations in ready-to-eat infant foods and drinks to the processing steps, different ingredients and their origins, including water. In general, we found the fluoride content in most of the collected samples from Australian markets to be high and may therefore carry a risk of dental fluorosis. These results highlight the need for parents to receive appropriate information on the fluoride content of ready-to-eat infant food and drinks.

Keywords: fluoride; dental fluorosis; infant formula; infants; infant foods; baby milk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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