Lead and cadmium content of some canned fruit and vegetables

The levels of lead and cadmium have been determined in samples of canned tomatoes, blackcurrants, grapefruit, pineapples, apricots, oranges, peaches, rhubarb, apples, prunes, damsons, plums, spinach and baked beans. The lead content of the 76 samples was in the range 0.10 to 3.90 parts/million, the mean being 0.56 parts/million; the range and mean of the cadmium content were 0.01 to 0.18 and 0.02 parts/million, respectively.