Share:
Warning of arsenic in our food - children in particular affected
Food should be free from any negative stress. No one wants to have toxic substances in his food. However, it has now been found that some of our foods contain carcinogenic doses of heavy metal arsenic.
When toxic substances enter our food, it can have unpleasant consequences for our health. Especially children are particularly endangered by such substances. Physicians warn that grain and milk can often contain carcinogenic amounts of arsenic. In a comprehensive study, the research team led by Ursula Gundert-Remy from the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin investigated the contamination of foods with arsenic.
Not only rice and rice products, but also many other foods are too high in arsenic. (Image: scvos / fotolia.com) Arsenic in food is already carcinogenic for children
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) also warned of arsenic in foodstuffs last year, with rice and rice products in particular being rated as heavily contaminated. Now it seems that other foods also contain too much of the heavy metal. Cereals, milk and milk-based products often contain high levels of arsenic, Ursula Gundert-Remy and colleagues report. Especially small children are particularly endangered by the heavy metal. For them, the absorbed doses may already be carcinogenic, the researchers warn. Adults are just below the maximum intake of arsenic when consuming such contaminated products. We urgently need new strategies to deal better with arsenic hazards, say the experts.
Effects of arsenic on the human body
Increasingly high levels of arsenic are found in our food. The heavy metal is extremely dangerous to human health. It can cause chronic intoxication. In addition, it is able to damage our skin, metabolism and our internal organs, the doctors warn. In addition, even small amounts of cancer can trigger. If people ingest about 0.3 to 8 micrograms of arsenic per kilogram of body weight daily, it increases the risk of some cancers, such as lung, skin and bladder cancer by one percent, the researchers explain.
How does the heavy metal get into our body??
How does arsenic actually get into our food? The heavy metal is contained in our soil. Traces of the substance could also be detected in the rock and in the groundwater. Plants take the heavy metal out of the soil and that's how it gets into our food. In the central and southern part of Germany and Europe, particularly high doses of heavy metal are contained in the soil. According to a study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the heavy metal is absorbed by people in Europe mainly via milk and dairy products as well as drinking water, the scientists report. In addition, unfortunately, high levels of arsenic were also found in infant formulas and cereals, explain the experts.
Children absorb a lot of arsenic every day
Due to the high levels of arsenic in baby food, children absorb extra much of the heavy metal. On average, the children's daily arsenic intake was between 0.61 and 2.09 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. This value is already dangerous for our children and is considered carcinogenic, explains Professor Ursula Gundert-Remy of the Berlin Charité. But even for people of all ages, the gap to unhealthy amounts is very small. We need to take effective action to reduce the burden of heavy metal, say the experts. Inorganic arsenic poses a great risk to the European population because it enters the human body through our food. Particularly at risk are small children, say the doctors. It is thus by no means sufficient just to consume less rice. Only if people regularly eat a lot of rice, a restriction could really be useful.
Doctors are calling for stricter controls on milk and cereals
This may be helpful to a minority of people who have consumed unusually large amounts of rice. But for the general European population this is of limited value, the researchers emphasize. For most of the burden is not just the rice from us, but the heavy burden of other staple foods, explain the doctors. In Europe, most people consume a lot of cereals and dairy products, which are also heavily contaminated. The high amount of arsenic in such foods must be reduced because it represents the greatest threat to the European population, explain Prof. Gundert-Remy and her colleagues. Therefore, we urgently need more regulatory initiatives for these food groups, according to the experts. (As)