CFS announces Second Hong Kong Total Diet Study findings on cadmium and lead
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 24) released the fifth report under the Second Hong Kong Total Diet Study (2nd HKTDS), which assessed the levels of cadmium and lead in food and the overall dietary exposure to these metallic contaminants among the Hong Kong population.
Cadmium and lead are metallic elements that are present ubiquitously in the environment. They can be released through various natural processes or human activities, and then enter the human food chain. The study findings showed that the dietary exposure estimates of the local adult and younger populations to cadmium were below the provisional tolerable monthly intake established by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), while those of lead fell below the respective dietary exposure levels identified by JECFA, indicating that the health impacts on the local population are also low. The dietary exposure estimates of the overall adult population to cadmium and lead were lower than those reported in the First Hong Kong Total Diet Study conducted between 2010 and 2014.
Out of a total of 187 food items covering 15 food groups tested in the Study, 125 (67 per cent) were detected with cadmium, while lead was detected in 176 (94 per cent). The three major food groups, namely "cereals and their products", "vegetables and their products" and "fish, seafood and their products", accounted for about 80 per cent of the total dietary exposure to cadmium and about 50 per cent of the total dietary exposure to lead in the local population.
According to the safety evaluation conducted by JECFA, long-term excessive exposure to cadmium may affect kidney functions, while long-term exposure to lead may cause damage to the nervous system and hypertension. Nevertheless, the above study findings showed that the dietary exposure estimates of the local population to cadmium and lead all fell below the respective levels identified by JECFA, thus the health impacts on the local population are low. A spokesman for the CFS reminded members of the public to maintain a balanced and varied diet. Moreover, additional food preparation steps, including washing vegetables and fruits thoroughly to remove dust and soil, removing outer leaves from leafy greens and peeling off the skin of root crops, may be adopted to reduce cadmium and lead levels therein.
The 2nd HKTDS aims to estimate the latest dietary exposure of the Hong Kong population and various population subgroups to a range of chemical substances of potential food safety concern, and to assess the associated health risks. The public can download the study reports released thus far from the CFS webpage at www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_firm/programme_tds_2nd_HKTDS_report.html.
The Centre for Food Safety, Photo source: reference image
