Alimentary lead intake of adults in Thuringia/Germany determined with the duplicate portion technique

Cadmium, lead, and chromium in large game: a local-scale exposure assessment for hunters consuming meat and liver of wild boar

Heavy metals are ubiquitous in soil, water, and air. Their entrance into the food chain is an important environmental issue that entails risks to humans. Several reports indicate that game meat can be an important source of heavy metals, particularly because of the increasing consumption of game meat, mainly by hunters. We performed an exposure assessment of hunters and members of their households, both adults and children, who consumed wild boar (WB) meat and offal. We estimated the amount of cadmium, lead, and chromium in the tissues of WB hunted in six areas within Viterbo Province (Italy) and gathered data on WB meat and offal consumption by conducting specific diet surveys in the same areas. The exposure to cadmium, lead, and chromium was simulated with specifically developed Monte Carlo simulation models. Cadmium and lead levels in WB liver and meat harvested in Viterbo Province (Italy) were similar to or lower than the values reported in other studies. However, some samples contained these metals at levels greater then the EU limits set for domestic animals. The chromium content of meat or liver cannot be evaluated against any regulatory limit, but our results suggest that the amounts of this metal found in WB products may reflect a moderate environmental load. Our survey of the hunter population confirmed that their consumption of WB meat and liver was greater than that of the general Italian population. This level of consumption was comparable with other European studies. Consumption of WB products contributes significantly to cadmium and lead exposure of both adults and children. More specifically, consumption of the WB liver contributed significantly to total cadmium and lead exposure of members of the households of WB hunters. As a general rule, liver consumption should be kept to a minimum, especially for children living in these hunter households. The exposure to chromium estimated for this population of hunters may be considered to be safe. However, a specific and complete assessment of chromium speciation in relevant dietary and environmental situations should be conducted.

Dietary supply of selenium for adolescents in three residential care orphanages in Southern Ghana

Adolescents require optimum dietary supply of the essential trace mineral selenium (Se); however the absence of reliable and accurate data on the dietary supply of selenium for the adolescent population in Ghanaian residential care orphanages have made it difficult for public health nutritionists to assess the adequacy of the dietary supply. The dietary supply of selenium for adolescents (12-15 years) in three residential care orphanages, (Osu, Tutu-Akwapim and Teshie), in Southern Ghana have been evaluated by sampling their 24-h duplicate diets (including water) for 7-consecutive days using the duplicate diet sampling technique. The mass fraction of selenium in the blended lyophilized homogenates of duplicate diets was determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA). The validity of the RNAA method for selenium determination was checked by analyses of NIST SRM 1548a (Typical diet). The chemical yield of the radiochemical separation was determined by spectrophotometry. The average mass fractions of selenium in the blended lyophilized 24-hour duplicate diets for Osu, Tutu-Akwapim and Teshie were; 165±61 [117.2-285.2], 203±68 [110.5-304.9] and 250±92 [128.8-408.0]ng Seg(-1) lyophilized matter respectively. The average dietary supply of Se were, 57.6±17.3 [42.2-88.4], 82.0±30.7 [44.3-136.2] and 91.7±44.2 [46.0-153.4]μg Se day(-1) for Osu, Tutu-Akwapim and Teshie orphanages respectively. The data generated will help public health nutritionists in the provision of dietary advice and nutritional support for the studied orphanages, as well as other orphanages. The data will also help in the planning of institutional diets.

Estimation of the dietary intake of cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic by the population of Santiago (Chile) using a Total Diet Study

Dietary intake of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) by the population of Santiago (Chile) was determined using a Total Diet Study in the market basket modality. After conducting a survey of the foods consumed in the last 24 h, the most consumed food products were included in the basket. Subsequently, they were cooked or prepared according to typical Chilean procedures and grouped into 17 food categories according to their chemical characteristics. The fish and shellfish group had the highest contents of As (1351 ng/g wet weight, ww), Cd (277 ng/g ww), and Hg (48 ng/g ww), while the sugar group had the highest content of Pb (251 ng/g ww). For a person with a body weight of 68 kg, the dietary intakes of As (77 microg/day), Cd (20 microg/day), Hg (5 microg/day), and Pb (206 microg/day) are lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intake values established by the FAO/WHO. Consequently, the total intakes of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb in Santiago (Chile) are within the limits estimated as safe.

Exposure to cadmium, lead and mercury in the adult population from Eastern Poland, 1990–2002

The aim was to estimate the adult exposure to cadmium, lead and mercury from daily household diets in Eastern Poland (Lublin city and province). A duplicate diet approach was used to top collect diet samples in 1990, 1993, 1998 and 2002. Cadmium and lead contents were measured by flame atomic absorption and the mercury content was measured by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The intake of the three elements was calculated using FOOD computer software. The exposure to cadmium taken with daily diets was from 16.4-34.5 microg/person/day (27-58% PTWI). The lead exposure was 66.5-106 microg/person/day (31-49% PTWI), which posed a smaller risk, and the exposure risk to mercury of 4.08-6.65 microg/person/day (10-16% PTWI) was even lower.

Dietary intake of lead by children and adults from Germany measured by the duplicate method

The dietary lead intake was studied among children and adults from Germany. Two different age groups of children (A: 1.8, 1.3-3.0 years, B: 3.8, 1.8-5.2 years) and one group of adults (D: 40.9, 24-64 years) were from the highly industrialized Ruhr district and one group of children from the North Sea island Amrum (C: 3.9, 1.5-5.3 years). A total of 229 duplicate food portions were collected from 49 individuals between December 1994 and May 1995. Sampling period for each participant was either 3 (groups B and D) or 7 days (groups A and C). Lead levels in duplicate samples were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The lead intakes (median, range) for the different groups were as follows: Group A: 0.21 (0.05-1.5) microgram/(kg bw.day), group B: 0.68 (0.06-1.6) microgram/(kg bw.day), group C: 0.29 (0.04-1.6) microgram/(kg bw.day) and group D: 0.26 (0.07-0.83) microgram/(kg bw.day). No value exceeded the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 25 micrograms/(kg bw.week) proposed by the WHO. The median and maximum of the different groups amounted to 7.2-16% and 16-36% of the PTWI, respectively. It is concluded that health risks due to dietary lead intake seem to be low in Germany.

Dietary intake of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by German children using duplicate portion sampling

The dietary intake of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was studied in 14 German children at the age of 1.5 to 5.3 years from the North Sea island Amrum. A total of 98 duplicate samples were collected between April and May 1995. The sampling period for each participant was 7 days. Concentrations of POPs were measured by capillary gas chromatography and electron capture detection. The median daily intake [ng/(kgbw.day)] for the different compounds were as follows: 1.9 for alpha-HCH, 1.2 for beta-HCH, 9.5 for gamma-HCH, 4.6 for HCB, 3.4 for DDT, 11.2 for DDE, 1.1 for PCB 101, 5.1 for, PCB 138, 5.2 for PCB 153 and 2.2 for PCB 180. Compared to acceptable or tolerable daily intake (ADI/TDI) proposed by WHO and other organizations the dietary intake of POPs was low. The median values of the ADI/TDI for the POPs was less than 2.2%. The highest percentage of tolerable intake was found for the sum of PCB and amounted to 20.4%. However, compared with minimal risk levels (ATSDR), the percentage of dietary intake was much higher, especially for gamma-HCH (based on median intake: 95%), for HCB (23.1%) and for PCB (69%).