Cereals Contribution to the Total Dietary Intake of Heavy Metals in Madrid, Spain

The present work is a part of FAO European Co-operative Research Network on Trace Elements reporting the results of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, molybdenum and nickel) and nutrients with potential toxicity (selenium, copper, zinc and manganese) in products from the cereals group, being a part of a total diet from Madrid. The average diet in grams per person and day was calculated based on the National Food and Nutrition Survey (ENNA-3) in a sample of 21155 households. Each family was interviewed during 7 days, through 1 year to avoid seasonal bias. Foods providing 95% of total energy intake were prepared. Foods from the cereals group were purchased in 1997 to reflect those available to the consumer and delivered to the Central Laboratory of the Agricultural and Research Centre of Finland where the concentrations of nutrients and contaminants were determined. Pasta showed the highest levels for cadmium (50.4±0.4 μg/kg dry wt.), molybdenum (308±6 μg), nickel (383±5 μg), selenium (110±3 μg), and copper (3.81±0.09 mg); whole bread, the highest of lead (59.2±8.0 μg), zinc (18.4±0.1 mg) and manganese (17.1±0.3 mg). The total dietary intake was estimated for each element and compared with relevant international standards such as the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) (FAO/WHO, 1984; WHO, 1993) and Reference doses RfD. The dietary intake of all elements from the cereal group contributes less than 15% of the maximum permissible international intake standards.