Evaluation of dietary exposure to fluoride from fruit juices and nectars in children and adolescents

Fluoride is present in a multitude of foods, mainly in water, but fruit juices and nectars are also relevant dietary sources, not only because of their high water content but also because of the high consumption figures, especially in children and adolescents. Fluoride is a beneficial hormetin to prevent the appearance of cavities but in high exposures it can pose a health risk. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has established a maximum Tolerable Intake Level (UL) between 0.1 and 0.12 mg/kg weight/day depending on age. The objectives of this study were to determine the fluoride content in 90 samples of fruit juices and nectars representative of the Spanish market and to estimate and evaluate the dietary exposure to fluoride from this dietary source in order to characterize the risk in different consumption scenarios. Variables such as the production area, the flavor and the type of production (ecological vs. conventional) have been considered in the analysis. Determination by potentiometry using a selective ion electrode has shown that soft drinks from fruit juices are the ones that contain less fluoride (0.19 mg/L) compared to juices from concentrate (0.43 mg/L) and nectars (0.36 mg/L). Organic juices and nectars are richer in fluoride. For each of the three consumption scenarios (200, 400 and 600 ml/day) the Estimated Daily Intakes (EDI) of fluoride are higher for juices from concentrate followed by nectars and juices. The consumption of 200 ml/day supposes 0.086 mg/L (5.73% of the UL); 0.038 mg/L (2.53% of the UL) and 0.072 mg/L (4.8% of the UL) of fluoride in the case of juices from concentrates, nectars and juices, respectively. It is recommended to moderate the consumption of these drinks, especially in children, and to choose refreshing fruit juice drinks due to their lower levels of fluoride, and to promote an improvement in the labeling of these products, incorporating the content of this anion in order to improve consumer information.