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