Accumulation and distribution of perchlorate in spinach and chard growing under greenhouse: Implications for food safety in baby foods commodities

•The uptake and accumulation of perchlorate in spinach and chard under greenhouse conditions were studied.•Spinach accumulates more perchlorate than chard (T2 ˃ T1): leaves ˃ shoots ˃ stems ˃ roots.•Chard accumulates half the amount of perchlorate in the shoot than spinach.•The intake of spinach or chard (T2 > T1) represents a significant risk to human health, especially at 1–3 years old. Very little information is available with regards to the bioavailability of perchlorate in spinach or chard used in the production of baby foods commodities. In the present study, the uptake and accumulation of perchlorate were compared under two different treatments (T1: 1 and T2: 10 mg L−1 ClO4−). Our results indicate that spinach has a higher capacity to accumulate perchlorate than chard (p stem > roots) all gradually increased (p T1). No significant differences were found between the control and T1. The daily intake for perchlorate (control) is below the proposed international standard, however, it was exceeded in T1 and T2. The results suggested that perchlorate is actively accumulate in high concentrations in vegetables used in the production of baby food commodities and the exposure of perchlorate via the food consumption (baby foods) was evaluated as not safe.