Assessment of health risks associated with exposure to metals in food

 The issue of foodborne metal contamination has gained urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 report from the US Congress detailing high levels of metals in baby food pulled from grocery shelves. (High levels of lead were recently found in bags of baby food and fruit puree.) Now, two new studies provide information on the correlation between heavy metal exposure
in food and cancers and other serious health risks. The results will be presented at the 2023 conference of the Risk Analysis Association.

Heavy metals can be taken by food crops from soil, air, and water that are contaminated. From rice and cereals to nuts and spinach, common foods contain dangerous heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium. The SRA's incoming president, Felicia Wu, who is a food scientist at Michigan State University, is conducting several studies to enhance our understanding of the potential health risks associated with heavy metal exposure.

The SRA meeting in December will feature the outcomes of two fresh assessments that she has prepared. A thorough investigation is required to determine the potential health hazards caused by dietary lead, arsenic, and cadmium exposure. The first step is detailed below. A quantitative assessment of the cancer risk associated with inorganic arsenic exposure is conducted.

Health risks of dietary exposure to lead, arsenic, and cadmium

Working with fellow postdoctoral researcher Charitha Gamlath and Ph.D. student Patricia Hsu, Wu collected data on the dietary intake of each metal from food scraps, water samples, and existing studies and reports for their first study using this method. After reviewing the data, researchers determined how strong a link was found between adverse health effects and dietary exposure. Using Bradford Hill Criteria scores, the strengths of the links between heavy metal exposure and cancer health effects as well as non-cancer effects were examined.

Lead is a poisonous element that is usually found in old paint, water pipes, and polluted soil. Root foods, such as beets, are high in lead. Lead was shown to have a moderate to high risk of producing lung, kidney, bladder, stomach, and brain cancers in the research. Non-cancer hazards (hematopoietic, reproductive, neurological, renal, and respiratory consequences) were also rated moderate to high.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring hazardous element that can contaminate food and drinking water, particularly in locations where soil arsenic concentrations are high. Among other things, rice, wheat, and leafy green vegetables contain it. For cancers of the skin, bladder, lung, kidney, and liver, arsenic showed moderate to high scores. Additionally, non-cancer hazards (skin lesions, cardiovascular disease, immunological, neurological, reproductive, developmental, and renal consequences) had ratings ranging from moderate to high.

Tobacco smoke, almonds, potatoes, seeds, cereal grains, leafy green vegetables, and cereal grains can all contain the hazardous element cadmium. Fertilizers and industrial pollutants are two of its environmental sources. Cadmium was shown to have moderate to high-risk ratings for endometrial, pancreatic, bladder, breast, prostate, and kidney cancers in the research. In terms of non-cancer hazards (renal, developmental, reproductive, immunological, and neurological impacts), it likewise revealed moderate to high scores.

Wu co-authored research on infant food cadmium that was published in Food and Chemical Toxicology earlier this year. In that study, the researchers discovered that the groups most exposed to cadmium in everyday foods are infants and young children, ages 6 months to 5 years. Mean cadmium exposures were higher in American newborns and early children who routinely ate rice, spinach, oats, barley, potatoes, and wheat than in the maximum acceptable intake limit established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (
ATSDR).

American cases of bladder, lung, and skin cancer and their exposure to arsenic.

In the second study that will be discussed, Wu and Ph.D. candidate Rubait Rahman evaluated the quantitative cancer risk associated with several US food products that contain inorganic arsenic.

According to their first calculations, the annual number of bladder and lung cancer cases and skin cancer cases in the United States that can be linked to inorganic arsenic consumption exceeds 6,000 and 7,000, respectively. Additionally, the researchers discovered that some food items may be linked to a higher risk of cancer than others. Leafy green vegetables, rice, and wheat are a few of these.

A thorough analysis of the scientific literature was done specifically for this research to find pertinent studies on the risks of cancer caused by inorganic arsenic contamination in different food products. Regulatory organizations, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), provided information on the amounts of arsenic in food products. To calculate the cancer risk associated with inorganic arsenic intake from various dietary products, quantitative cancer risk assessment models were used. To calculate the likelihood of developing cancer, these models used dose-response relationships, population characteristics, and exposure data.