Dietary cadmium intake in an Italian population

M Malavolti1, C Malagoli1, I Bottecchi1, L Vescovi2, M Modenesi2,
P Castiglia3, S Sieri4, V Krogh4, M Vinceti1
1CREAGEN Environmental, Genetic, and Nutritional Epidemiology Center,
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
2IREN Group, Reggio Emilia e Piacenza, Italy
3Department of Biomedical Sciences, Hygiene and Preventive Medicine,
University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
4Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei
Tumori, Milan, Italy
Contact: marcella.malavolti@unimore.it
Background
Cadmium has been recognized as a carcinogen on the basis of
occupational studies. The main source of exposure to
cadmium, except for smokers and for occupationally-exposed
individuals, is food. It has been reported that more than 80%
of food-based cadmium comes from cereals and vegetables.
The average cadmium intake from food generally varies
between 8 and 25 mg/day. However, the amount of exposure
may differ among individuals. Limited evidence about current
main sources of cadmium intake in the Italian population,
however, is available.
Methods
We estimated dietary cadmium intake in 719 residents in the
Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy using a validated
food frequency questionnaire specifically developed as part of
the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and
Nutrition (EPIC) study. We calculated the cadmium dietary
intake and we identified the food categories or single foods
which gave a major contribution to cadmium intake.
Results
Daily average cadmium intake was 14.04 (7.82) mg, 0.21 mg/
kg body weight in women and 0.19 mg/kg body weight in men.
These values are lower than those reported for the whole
European population (0.36 mg/kg body weight/die) and they
are unequivocally below to the limit of 1g/kg established by
the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food. Previous
reports, our study confirms that 80% of food-based cadmium
comes from cereals and vegetables. In fact, in the current study
food categories that most contributed to cadmium intake were
mushrooms (30.6%), rice (16.9%), pasta (7.6%), bread
(6.1%), leafy vegetables (5.3%) and shellfish (4.2%).
Conclusions
Our analysis suggests that cadmium exposure to this northern
Italy population is lower than that expected on the basis of the
European average intake. However, a high consumption of
some specific food items can considerably increase cadmium
intake.
Key messages
Our study analyzed the intake of cadmium through food in
the Italian population
Our analysis suggests that cadmium exposure to this
northern Italy population is lower than that expected on
the basis of the European average intake