The Health Risks of Lead and Cadmium in Foodstuffs for the General Population of Taiwan

摘要

The present study evaluate the background levels of Cd and Pb in 1936 foodstuffs and to assess the health risks to the Taiwanese population associated with their general dietary consumption.A higher concentration of Pb was found in shellfish (0.138 mg/kg) and cephalopods (0.093 mg/kg), and the Cd levels were 0.810 mg/kg in cephalopods and 0.315 mg/kg in shellfish. For Pb and Cd exposure, grain was the highest contributor, accounting for 31.27%-41.77% and 67.83%-86.26%, respectively, in each age group.In terms of the cancer risk due to Pb exposure, the total cancer risk was 1.22 × 10−6 based on their median level for each sampling and 1.20 × 10−5 based on the 95% upper limit level of each sampling. The hazard index (HI) for Pb was higher than 1 for people younger than 12 years, whereas the HIs for Cd exposure were less than 1. The estimated Pb and Cd cancer risks were generally higher for infants and children than for adults. Due to the higher levels of Cd and Pb presented in grains compared with those in meat and fishery products, the health impacts to vegetarians and high grain consumers may be higher than those to normal consumers.