5.7. Risk Characterization

For aflatoxins, the Margin of Exposure (MoE) was calculated as the ratio between the reference benchmark dose level (BMDL) at 10% (BMDL10) and the estimated PDI. According to the CONTAM Panel of EFSA, we used a BMDL10 of 0.4 µg/kg bw per day for the incidence of HCC; a calculated MOE below 10,000 implies a high health concern [67]. For DON and ZEN risk characterization, a Hazard Quotient (HQ) was assessed, being the ratio between the calculated PDI and the reference tolerable daily intake (TDI) determined by toxicological studies in sensitive laboratory species [17]. A TDI of 1 μg/kg bw per day was used for DON [68] and a TDI of 0.25 μg/kg bw was used for ZEN [69]. A HQ < 1 was considered a health concern.