Determination of ethyl carbamate in some fermented Korean foods and beverages

Ethyl carbamate has been associated with cancer for several decades. It Is mainly found in fermented foods and beverages. In view of the importance of fermented foods in the Korean diet and the significant level of ethyl carb amate expected, we determined ethyl carbamate concentrations in some of the staple food items and estimated the daily intake for the Korean population . Ethyl carbamate in commercial samples of kimchi, soy sauce, vinegar, soyb ean paste, and alcoholic beverages were determined by gas chromatography-ma ss spectrometry/selective ion monitoring (GC-MS/SIM). Homemade soy sauce an d kimchi were also analysed. The maximum ethyl carbamate concentrations obs erved were 73 mu g/kg in soy sauce, 7.9 mu g/kg in soybean paste, 2.5 mu g/ l in vinegar, 16.2 mu g/kg in kimchi and 15.4 mu/l in Korean traditional al coholic beverages. Combining these values with the average daily food intak e data, we estimated that the maximum daily exposure of Korean population t o ethyl carbamate is 2.8 mu g/day, which is not a negligible amount conside ring the 'virtually safe dose' derived by animal experiment ranges between 1.2 and 4.8 mu g/day. It would be desirable to closely monitor ethyl carbam ate levels in Korean foods and to find ways to reduce the daily intake.