Food is the primary source of cadmium exposure among general population as a consequence of the bio-concentration of cadmium from soil. Chronic cadmium exposure has been reported to be associated with chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Cadmium is toxic to the kidney, while exposure to high levels of tin from, e.g. canned food in incorrectly manufactured tins can cause gastrointestinal irritation and upsets.
According to the current knowledge kidney damage (renal tubular damage) is probably the critical health effect. Other effects of cadmium expo-sure are disturbances of calcium metabolism, hypercalciuria and formation of stones in the kidney.
It has also been associated with lung damage (including induction of lung tumours) and skeletal changes in occupationally exposed populations. Cadmium is relatively poorly absorbed into the body, but once absorbed is slowly excreted, like other metals, and accumulates in the kidney causing renal damage.
Cadmium is used to produce a wide variety of consumer and industrial materials, such as electrode in Ni-Cd batteries; pigments for plastics, ceramics, and glasses; stabilizers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC); coatings for steel and nonferrous metals; solar cells and electronic devices, and constituent of fungicides or fertilizers.
Drinking-water contains very low concentrations of cadmium, usually in the range 0.01–1 μg/liter.
For nonsmokers, food constitutes the principal environmental source of cadmium. The lowest concentrations are found in milk (around 1 μg/kg). The concentration of cadmium is in the range 1-50 μg/kg in meat, fish and fruit and 10-300 μg/kg in staple foods such as wheat, rice and potatoes.
The highest cadmium levels (100-1000 μg/kg) are found in the internal organs (kidney and liver) of mammals and in certain species of mussels, scallops and oysters. When grown on a cadmium-polluted soil, some crops, such as rice, can accumulate considerable amounts of cadmium (more than 1000 μg/kg).
Cadmium
in food
