. 2022 Oct 28;19(21):14087.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114087.

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

Navira Chandio^{1

2

3}, James Rufus John^{2

4

5

6}, Shaan Floyd⁷, Emily Gibson⁷, Danny K Y Wong⁷, Steven M Levy⁸, Judy R Heilman⁸, Amit Arora^{1

2

3

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
² Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, Sydney, NSW 2560, Australia.
³ Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁵ South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia.
⁶ Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia.
⁷ School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
⁸ College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
⁹ Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
¹⁰ Oral Health Services, Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Dental Hospital, NSW Health, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.

PMID: 36360963
PMCID: PMC9655222
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114087

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

Navira Chandio et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 Oct 28;19(21):14087.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114087.

Authors

Navira Chandio^{1

2

3}, James Rufus John^{2

4

5

6}, Shaan Floyd⁷, Emily Gibson⁷, Danny K Y Wong⁷, Steven M Levy⁸, Judy R Heilman⁸, Amit Arora^{1

2

3

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Campbelltown Campus, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
² Health Equity Laboratory, Campbelltown, Sydney, NSW 2560, Australia.
³ Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁵ South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia.
⁶ Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia.
⁷ School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
⁸ College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
⁹ Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
¹⁰ Oral Health Services, Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Dental Hospital, NSW Health, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.

PMID: 36360963
PMCID: PMC9655222
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114087

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: baby milk; dental fluorosis; fluoride; infant foods; infant formula; infants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
The percentage distribution of fluoride concentration in solid food samples (n = 326).

**Figure 2**
The percentage distribution of fluoride concentration in liquid food samples (n = 49).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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

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

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