Estimated intake of cadmium through food consumption in Serbia

Abstract

In the past several decades, presence of cadmium in the environment has significantly increased as the consequence of human activities. Consequently, the increase of cadmium content is also recorded in foodstuffs, especially in entrails, mushrooms, mollusks, shells and crustaceans, cocoa, rice, etc. Majority of the total cadmium in human body originates from food consumption (about 90%). Taking this into consideration, the aim of this paper was to estimate weekly cadmium intake through food consumption in Serbia. During the period 2011-2012, a total of 10,720 samples have been analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry, graphite furnace. Limit of quantification was 5 ng/g. The estimation of certain foodstuffs intake was carried out using WHO database. All the tested samples contained cadmium below the maximum permitted level set by National regulations. Estimated weekly intake of cadmium, based on mean value of cadmium content in foodstuffs and average body weight of 70 kg, was 1.286 μg/kg body weight (b.w.)/week. According to the recommendation of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), tolerable weekly intake of cadmium is 2.5 μg/ kg b.w. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that the intake of cadmium within Serbian population is slightly above 50% of safe limit, and does not pose a risk for human health.