Recently, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a Closer to Zero Action Plan to assess the risks of and develop action levels for certain heavy metals in food including cadmium (Cd). This research aids the FDA Action Plan by estimating the American population’s Cd exposures in food, by age group and consumption patterns of certain high-risk foods; and by determining circumstances in which exposures exceed tolerable daily intakes developed by policymaking groups in the US and worldwide. We found that the age groups 6–24 months and 24–60 month old are the most highly exposed to Cd in common foodstuffs. American infants and young children of these age groups who regularly consumed rice, spinach, oats, barley, potatoes, and wheat had mean Cd exposures exceeding maximum tolerable intake level was set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). We have identified age groups at highest potential risk, and therefore of interest for developing food safety policies to improve safety of commercial food for children.
This work was supported by IAFNS Food & Chemical Safety Committee.