RISK ASSESSMENT STUDY: METHOXYCHLOR (MXC) IN FOOD
Date Published: October 2023
Executive Summary:
Methoxychlor (MXC) is an organochlorine pesticide primarily used as an insecticide against pests on crops and livestock. It is persistent in the environment and has a strong potential for long-range environmental transportation. MXC has a potential to bioaccumulate in fishes; while in human, it is quickly metabolized by demethylation to form phenolic metabolites which are then eliminated from the body, and therefore MXC is not bioaccumulated. MXC is not genotoxic and not carcinogenic in experimental animals. In experimental mammals, the acute toxicity from oral exposure to MXC is low. The main targets for the chronic toxicity of MXC are the nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems. The Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ World Health Organization (WHO) Meeting on Pesticide residues (JMPR) has evaluated the toxicity of MXC in food in 1965 and 1977. JMPR has allocated an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0 - 100 µg/kg body weight (bw) for MXC. This study serves (i) to determine the level of MXC in foods available in the local market; (ii) to estimate the dietary exposure to MXC of the Hong Kong adult population; and (iii) to assess the associated health risk.
