As more and more infant foods get pulled from store shelves because of heavy metal poisoning, researchers and food scientists are trying to study what, if any, implications it might have for the risks for cancers and other health issues.
Some of the most concerning metals that can be absorbed from the air, soil and water by food crops include cadmium, arsenic and lead. Besides foods like applesauce (from contaminated apples), scientists have found that spinach, nuts, rice and cereals also uptake heavy metals.
So far, they’ve determined that lead can cause lung, kidney, bladder, stomach and brain cancers, while arsenic can cause skin, bladder, lung, kidney and liver cancers. Cadmium has moderate to high risk scores for prostate, renal, bladder, breast, pancreatic and endometrial cancers. All of the metals also carried neurological, reproductive and immunological risks, especially in children.
The findings will be presented in an upcoming conference on risk analysis. Felicia Wu, Michigan State University food scientist, said, “Results from these studies have important implications for food safety regulations, public health policies and consumer awareness.”
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SOURCE:
Science Daily December 12, 2019
Source: Original Article
Publish Date: 2023-12-13 20:05:18