Cadmium dietary exposure assessment in the adult population and pre-school children in the Republic of Serbia

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal, present in all matrices of the environment and a common food contaminant. Human exposure to it may elicit many diverse health impairments. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary exposure to Cd for the adult population and preschool children in Serbia using probabilistic methodology. We measured Cd in 11,227 food samples belonging to 50 food items on the Serbian market. Cd was detected in 90% of the tested food items, and in 30.8% of the overall tested samples. The food item that contributed the most to total dietary Cd intake was potatoes (median Cd concentration of 7 ng/g) in adults, and fruit and vegetable juices in children (median Cd concentration of 19 ng/g). Weekly Cd intake shown as 50th and 95th percentiles were 2.54 and 4.74 mu g/kg bw in the adult population, and 3.29 and 4.93 mu g/kg bw in children. The results of this study are rather preliminary and should be considered as an indication of the need for further, more refined research, which would contribute to a more realistic risk assessment as a high-priority approach, especially in the case of vulnerable subpopulations such as children.