Hygienic aspects of food safety for infant nutrition

Objective. To conduct a hygienic assessment of chemical contamination of food products for infant nutrition. Materials and methods. Analysis of databases on the content of toxic elements (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic) in food products for infant nutrition and the infant morbidity rate according to the materials of social and hygienic monitoring in the Russian Federation was performed. The structure of nutrition for infants was studied. Based on the results of generated databases, the hazard quotient was calculated at the level of the median content of toxic elements in food products. Results. The primary chemical pollutants in food products for infants were found to be toxic elements (61.4% of samples), of which lead prevails. When analyzing the infant morbidity rate, an increase in gastrointestinal pathologies (by 15.7%) was observed, and in several cases – anemia and endocrine system diseases. It was revealed that only 37.3% of infants receive breastfeeding, and there is a violation of the timing of complementary food introduction (25.3%). Analysis of non-carcinogenic health risks showed that for formula-fed infants, the risk of alimentary-dependent diseases increases with age by months, which was confirmed by calculations of the hazard quotient (HQmedPb = 1.1; HQmedCd = 1.37; HQmedAs = 1.39). Conclusion. To prevent the morbidity rate in infants due to chemical contamination of food products, it is necessary to support breastfeeding, strict compliance with the terms of introduction and volume of complementary foods, and training in health education for medical students in accordance with the requirements of professional standards. Key words: infants, food products, toxic elements