Food Standards Agency
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Listen to this siteTuesday 9 January 2007
Food Survey Information Sheet 01/07 (Revised March 2007)
The Food Standards Agency has conducted a survey investigating the concentrations of eight metals and other elements in a variety of cultivated and wild grown foods. Concentration of aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese and zinc were measured in 310 food samples.
The aim of this survey was to gather information on the concentrations of metals and other elements in a variety of foods around the United Kingdom. The results of this survey will be used to allow more accurate and detailed intake estimates of metals and other elements by consumers and to provide current data for a future review of EC maximum permitted levels of metals in foods.
Back to topA total of 310 samples of a variety of foods were analysed for aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese and zinc: 120 samples of root vegetables, 30 of nuts, 35 of dried fruits, 50 of mushrooms, 25 of honey, 25 of sweets and 25 of deer and pheasant were bought throughout the UK from a range of retail outlets. A total of 245 samples were collected from England, 18 in Northern Ireland, 25 in Scotland and 22 in Wales.
Levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead were compared against relevant regulatory limits. Four samples of cultivated mushrooms showed levels of cadmium above the permitted limits and one sample of root vegetables showed levels of lead above the permitted limits.
Following clarification from the EU Commission on the 2 March 2007, it was confirmed that the definition for fruit included in the Commission Regulation 1881/2006 does not include tree nuts and therefore there are no current regulatory limits for tree nuts. Food Safety Information Sheet 01/07 has been revised to incorporate this.
Overall, estimated dietary exposure to metals and other elements measured in this survey does not pose a significant risk to consumer safety, and FSA advice to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day is unchanged.
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Some metals and other elements (such as copper, manganese and zinc) can act as nutrients and are essential for health, while others (such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) have no known beneficial health effects. All may be harmful if excessive amounts are consumed.
Metals and other elements can be present in food either naturally, as a result of human activities (such as agricultural practices, industrial emissions, car exhausts), from contamination during manufacture/processing and storage, or by direct addition.
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 (which supersedes the earlier regulation 466/2001) sets maximum levels for certain contaminants including lead and cadmium in foodstuffs and is enforced by The Contaminants in Food (England) Regulations 2006. Various foods included in this survey such as venison, peanuts, honey, pheasant, sweets, tree nuts and wild mushrooms are not currently included in these regulations.
The European Commission has announced its intention of reviewing the limits for lead and cadmium in certain foods and has specifically requested data for some foods where there is a lack of information. The UK Arsenic in Food Regulations 1959 (as amended) set the maximum limit for arsenic in foods, and all foods included in this survey are covered by these regulations. This survey was carried out to collect up-to-date information and not for enforcement purposes.
The FSA regularly monitors the concentrations of metals and other elements in food. In the most recent Total Diet Study, the levels of metals found in nuts and vegetables were low and did not present significant risks to the general UK population. In 2000 the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food published a survey of levels of metals in a range of mushrooms collected from the wild. Although the mean levels of cadmium, lead and arsenic found in wild mushrooms in that survey were low, certain species seem to accumulate high levels of metals. The FSA does not have any recent data on levels of metals in honey, sweets and game meat.
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