Transient excursion above the PTMI would have no health consequences provided that the average intake over long period is not exceeded as the emphasis of PTMI is a lifetime exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC of the World Health Organization considered that there was sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity of cadmium and cadmium compounds in humans upon occupation exposure, and classified them as Group 1 agents.
However, available evidence suggested that cadmium did not appear to have significant genotoxic and carcinogenic potential via the oral route. Local Study Food and Environmental Hygiene Department FEHD conducted a study on dietary exposure to heavy metals of secondary school students in and the results suggested that the overall dietary exposures to cadmium for both average and high consumers of secondary school students were 2.
Major toxicological effects arising from dietary exposure of the secondary school students to cadmium are therefore not anticipated. Regulatory Control In Hong Kong , the Food Adulteration Metallic Contamination Regulations provide, amongst others, maximum permissible concentrations of cadmium in different food categories. The levels are set at not more than 0. The vegetarians were encouraged to eat lots of whole, unrefined plant foods, with no meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
Junk food was also discouraged. Within three months on a vegetarian diet, their levels significantly dropped , and stayed down for the rest of the year-long experiment. The researchers came back three years later, three years after the subjects stopped eating vegetarian, and found that their levels of mercury, cadmium, and lead had shot back up.
Since the cadmium in plants is based on the cadmium in soil, plant-eaters that live in a really polluted area like Slovakia, which has some of the highest levels, thanks to the chemical and smelting industries, can indeed build up higher cadmium levels, especially if they eat lots of plants.
Toxic metals have also been found in dietary supplements. Michael Greger, M. FACLM, is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Oz Show and The Colbert Report, and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous "meat defamation" trial. The food product contamination with heavy metals may have also resulted from the migration of these elements from the packaging material.
Contamination may have occurred during the technological processes that prepare the products for consumption, for example as the result of using metal kitchen tools 13 , In the case of foodstuffs stored in metal cans, the packaging coating may corrode, especially when stored foods have an acidic pH.
Corroded metal packaging can become a source of migration of heavy metals, such as tin Sn , Cd and Pb, to the stored product, that increase their content in food 15 , 16 , A human risk assessment can identify methods to minimize exposure to heavy metals, for example by reducing the weekly consumption of contaminated food products Due to the seasonality of agricultural production, in countries located in the temperate climate zone there is a need to process food, freeze or dry it, especially those species of vegetables and fruits that are not available for sale all year.
This procedure also applies to perishable food, such as soft fruits like strawberries or raspberries. Eating processed, frozen or dried fruits or vegetables can complement a daily diet, especially in periods, when the availability of fresh products is limited. However, not much scientific research concerns the quality of this type of food and its safety for the consumer. The aim of this study is to investigate the level of heavy metals Cd, Pb contamination of particular species of vegetables and fruits, which are available on the Polish markets in the form of fresh, frozen, dried and processed products.
These types of food could be a potential source of consumer exposure to heavy metals. In addition, the aim is to verify which of these food groups is the most contaminated and poses a significant health risk to its consumers. The study material consisted of samples containing 6 species of fruits: apples Malus sylvestris L.
Almost all species of fruits and vegetables were available on the Polish markets in the form of fresh, frozen, dried or processed. The exceptions were frozen fruits which were not available for sale in Poland: apples, cranberries , grapes, and pears. The most frequent group was fresh food and in the following order: processed, dried and frozen Table 1. The chemical analysis of heavy metals concentration Cd and Pb in samples of vegetables and fruits was performed under the official food inspection carried out by the State Sanitary Inspection.
Fresh vegetables and fruits samples were prepared for chemical analysis in the same way that they are prepared for consumption thorough washing, peeling, removing inedible parts. The frozen samples were homogenized. The processed products stored in syrup or marinade were separated and homogenized.
The weight of each sample was varied and amounted to 2 g for fresh and frozen samples, 1 g for dried samples, 2 g for processed samples, except liquid samples—10 g.
Samples were subjected to a four-phases mineralization process in microwave mineralizer Magnum II, Ertec Poland Table 2. Measurements were made with atomization in graphite furnace and background correction; instrumental parameters and measuring range of the spectrometer AAS are summarized in Table 3.
To estimate the limit of detection LOD and the limit of quantification LOQ , at least 20 blank samples should be analyzed; subsequently mean value and standard deviation SD were calculated for these measures. LOD is the lowest quantity or concentration of a component that can be reliably detected with a given analytical method. It is estimated by:. LOQ is the lowest analyte concentration that can be quantitatively detected with a stated accuracy and precision.
Its estimate is given by:. Analysis of variance ANOVA was utilized to detect significant differences between average Cd and Pb concentrations in fresh, frozen, dried and processed vegetables and fruits. A p-value of less than 0. In the next stage, Outlier Analysis was performed. Boxplots were utilized to pictorially represent the location, dispersion and shape of the data distribution regarding the concentration of Cd and Pb in all types of analyzed food.
Outliers show those values that largely differ from other values in the sample. They are typically either much higher or much lower than other points. Using the Post-hoc Multiple Comparison, attempts were made to determine significant differences between the mean values in the analyzed groups.
The significance level was adjusted for multiple tests using Bonferroni correction It was found that in 12 food samples, the Cd content exceeded the maximum acceptable level.
Tables 6 and 7 present the mean and SD, as well as the minimum and maximum values for the Cd and Pb contents in each of the analyzed fruits Table 6 and vegetables Table 7. Lack of a value in the tables means that the Cd or Pb value was below the LOQ for that particular sample. The analysis of Cd and Pb contents in all food products is necessary due to the possibility of assessing the health risks associated with consumption of contaminated ready-to-eat different types of food.
A review of the scientific literature showed that the issue of food contamination with heavy metals is discussed by several researchers. However, they mostly include only fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, there is a little data concerning the level of heavy metals contamination of vegetables and fruits cultivated in other European countries in the available literature.
Consequently, the results presented in this paper may form the basis for further research on the scale of food contamination with heavy metals such as Pb and Cd. Among fruits such as apples, pears, raspberries and strawberries, the highest average values of both Cd and Pb were observed in dried products Cd: 0.
In cranberry samples, the highest levels of Cd were determined in fresh fruits 0. In the case of grape samples, the same average Cd concentration was recorded in both dried and fresh products 0. In most fruit samples the lowest average Cd concentrations were determined in processed products grapes, pears, raspberries and strawberries—0. In apple samples, the same average Pb value was recorded in both fresh fruit and processed products 0.
The content of Cd and Pb in fruits, in the results available in the literature, is very diverse. The demonstrated average Cd content in apples 0. The amounts of Cd in raspberries and strawberries tested in Poland were higher compared to those investigated by Norton et al. Additionally, in samples collected in Turkey and Serbia, the Cd content in the analyzed products was below the LOQ 24 , Our results of Pb values in fruit samples are similar to those reported by some researchers and the range of values presented for this element in other analyses were very wide.
However, as in the case of Cd content in apples purchased in Poland, Pb concentrations in these fruits 0. The average Pb content in grapes 0. The results of author's research regarding the content of Pb in raspberries 0.
Pb concentrations in strawberries 0. The highest average concentrations of Cd were determined in fresh vegetables beetroot and celery—0. For most samples, the lowest average Cd and Pb levels were observed in processed products beetroots, carrots, celery. Exceptions were samples of tomatoes—the lowest average Cd and Pb concentration values were observed in fresh foodstuffs 0.
Common alkaline batteries do not contain cadmium. However, nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries used in mobile phones, cordless tools, laptop computers and digital cameras do contain cadmium. These batteries and equipment should be disposed of at appropriate waste disposal sites. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:.
When returning to a flood-affected area, remember that wild animals, including rats, mice, snakes or spiders, may be trapped in your home, shed or garden. When returning to your home after a flood, take precautions to reduce the possibility of injury, illness or disease. Around 75 per cent of Melbourne's air pollution is caused by vehicle emissions. Allergy occurs when the body overreacts to a 'trigger' that is harmless to most people. Children should always be closely supervised near animals and taught how to behave safely around pets.
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