Cadmium exposure assessment based on food survey data in an urban area of Beijing and Chongli area of Zhangjiakou

ObjectiveTo provide a reference for food safety risk assessment and safety assurance for the Winter Olympics and Beijing residents， the exposure level and possible health risks of cadmium （Cd） in main foods in the surrounding areas of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were evaluated. MethodsBased on the hazard assessment and limit standard analysis of cadmium， the point assessment method was used to assess the dietary exposure risk of cadmium. The 2019 to 2020 on-site sampling survey data of an urban area of Beijing and Zhangjiakou Chongli area and the 2018 Beijing main food consumption survey data were used in this pre-assessment. ResultsThe cadmium provisional tolerated monthly intake （PTMI） established by joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives （JECFA） was 25 μg/kg·BW. The overall average content of cadmium in various foods was 0.010 6 mg/kg， and the overall rate of exceeding the standard was 0.47%. The average exposure of Beijing residents to cadmium through the main food was 5.92 µg/（kg·BW·m）， accounting for 23.66% of the JECFA-recommended provisional tolerable monthly intake （PTMI） of 25 μg/kg·BW. In addition， cereals and vegetable foods were the main sources of dietary cadmium exposure. According to the current limit of cadmium （LOC） in GB 2762—2017 National Food Safety Standards Limits of contaminants in food， except for these two categories of food， the theoretical exposure to cadmium in the rest of the food did not exceed the PTMI. The estimated LOC for vegetables， grains and cereals is 0.172 and 0.199 mg/kg， both of which were less than the maximum limit value stipulated by the national standard. ConclusionThe main food cadmium exposure of Winter Olympics and Beijing residents is generally at a safe level， and the health risk is relatively low.