Exposure to silver, aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and lead from food in Swedish children, adolescents and adults

Total diet studies monitor exposure to contaminants from food. This study investigates the intakes of the harmful metals silver (Ag), aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), inorganic As, cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in Swedish young children, adolescents and adults, and relate them to health-based guidance values (HBGV). Whereas intakes of Ag and Al did not give rise to any concern for adverse health effects, most of the young children had intakes of inorganic As (≥97 %), Cd (≥71 %) and Ni (≥92 %, for acute effects) above the HBGV set by European Food Safety Authority. Some young children (2-3 %) also had higher intake of methyl-Hg (estimated by Hg from fish and eggs) than the HBGV. Whether the higher exposure to these metals during early childhood cause a greater risk of adverse health effects is unknown but our findings indicate that potential adverse health effects due to their exposure cannot be excluded. Hence, actions to reduce these intakes are desirable. Estimated intakes of Pb were below HBGV which partly disagree with blood Pb levels measured in previous studies, indicating that there are other important Pb sources than food.