Why should we worry about cadmium?
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Cadmium is a toxic, highly persistent, and non-essential metal that bio-accumulates in the body. The
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has listed cadmium as
a chemical known to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Chronic exposure to cadmium can cause kidney, lung, and bone damage according to the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Because cadmium can accumulate in the
body over the course of decades , individuals who have been chronically exposed to low doses of cadmium, perhaps since childhood, are likely to have cadmium accumulation in their bodies, which may result in greater risk for health complications.
Exposure to cadmium is especially
harmful to children due to the sensitivity of the developing nervous system. Children likely also
absorb cadmium more readily than adults due to their higher intestinal absorption and lower renal excretion than adults, and the higher dose of toxicant relative to their body weight. Additionally, children are likely more susceptible than adults to
bone loss and decreased bone strength because of cadmium exposure. Neonatal or early-life exposures to cadmium may cause other developmental harm including decreased birth weight,
impaired neurobehavioral development, increased susceptibility to hypertension as an adult , and
alterations to epigenetic signatures in the DNA of newborns. For more information, see the
CDC’s ATSDR full profile on cadmium.
How are we exposed to cadmium?
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For non-occupationally exposed people who do not smoke, food is the
largest source of cadmium intake. Cadmium can be found in certain food products, even those certified as organic or labeled as natural. Not all foods within particular food groups appear to be equally contaminated with cadmium, leading us to believe that cadmium contamination may be affected by supply chain decisions of food growers, processors, and manufacturers.
How can farmers and manufacturers prevent cadmium contamination in their products?
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Spinach growers and processors should be vigilant in monitoring the full production process from seed to shelf. Cadmium may be
introduced through contaminated soil and aerial deposition, contaminated water, industrial processes, and land application of sewage sludge or fertilizers. Once the source(s) of cadmium are identified, suppliers and manufacturers can improve their practices, increase supply chain transparency, test their products before selling them, and otherwise take effective steps to reduce cadmium from their products or provide a warning.
Certain
farm practices have been identified that can mitigate cadmium concentrations in spinach. These practices include not growing spinach in highly contaminated soils and avoiding the introduction of cadmium from certain phosphate fertilizers; using soil amendments; changing soil pH; increasing soil organic matter; restricting chloride in irrigation water; and using or breeding of spinach varietals that uptake less cadmium from the soil. Growers, in partnership with food processors, need to adopt stronger guidelines to drive adoption, implementation, and quantification of these mitigation practices, including testing spinach samples prior to sales.
How can I tell if cadmium might be in the spinach I purchase?
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The only way to tell if a particular product contains cadmium is to test that product for heavy metals at a certified lab. We provide a list of the product samples we have
tested and the levels of cadmium that we found in those samples.
Doesn’t the government protect us from heavy metals like cadmium in the products we buy?
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The FDA does not consistently monitor food for cadmium contamination. California has the most protective standards in the country for heavy metals, including cadmium, in consumer products and requires that manufacturers warn consumers if a product contains certain levels of chemicals, such as cadmium, known to cause cancer and/or birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Will I get sick if I eat spinach with cadmium?
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It is difficult to predict which chemical exposure(s) will trigger an adverse health effect in a person, due to individual variation (depending on biological and/or genetic factors). What we do know is that cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that accumulates and is persistent in the body. The first step in preventing exposure is to identify the sources of a chemical and then try to avoid them. California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act requires companies to provide information to consumers when the levels of a listed chemical exceed certain exposure thresholds. With all chemical exposures, the most vulnerable populations are developing fetuses, children, the elderly, and those most impacted from working or living near industrial and manufacturing plants.
What can I do to ensure the spinach products I buy are free of cadmium?
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The best course of action is to contact your preferred spinach manufacturer(s) and retailers and ask them to fix this problem. Although the
spinach tracker that we publish on our website demonstrates that certain tested samples contained cadmium, concentrations can vary; asking spinach companies to consistently test and reduce cadmium in their products is the safest bet for consumers.
Why is there lead in some spinach products?
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Lead was found in some samples of the spinach products we tested. As with cadmium,
lead may be introduced into spinach through a variety of routes during growing, processing, transportation, and packaging of the product. Like cadmium, growers, retailers, and manufacturers should test or otherwise identify the source(s) of any lead in their products and take steps to reduce the levels of lead in spinach and/or provide warnings to consumers.
Lead is a toxic heavy metal that is often released into the environment through manmade industrial processes including mining, burning of fossil fuels such as coal or oil, incineration of municipal waste (plastics/batteries), and manufacturing and smelting. Lead has been recognized as the single most significant environmental
health threat to young children in the U.S. As noted by the U.S. Center for Disease Control,
no safe lead level in children has been identified. Lead exposure has been a
significant public health issue for decades and is associated with neurological impairment such as learning disabilities and lower IQ, even when ingested at low levels.
How were spinach products tested?
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As You Sow has conducted independent certified laboratory testing of spinach products available at retailers across California to test for cadmium concentration. To calculate the daily exposure level, results of cadmium concentration (ppm) from laboratory testing were multiplied by the serving size of the product, to determine the cadmium exposure in micrograms (µg) per serving. Where a suggested serving size was not available on the product, a serving size of 85g (fresh/frozen) or 130g (canned), was used based on
FDA guidance to industry for customary amounts consumed (see: “All other vegetables without sauce: fresh, canned, or frozen”).
What is the "Maximum Allowable Dose Level"?
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California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act requires companies to provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has identified regulatory "safe harbor" levels for listed chemicals that trigger the Act's warning requirement. These
regulatory safe harbor levels include No Significant Risk Levels (NSRLs) for cancer-causing chemicals and Maximum Allowable Dose Levels (MADLs) for chemicals causing reproductive toxicity.
The Maximum Allowable Dose established by OEHHA for cadmium is 4.1 micrograms per day. The MADL established by OEHHA for lead is 0.5 micrograms per day. Under the Toxic Enforcement Act, if a company can show that daily exposure from a product is less than the MADL, it does not need to provide a warning. Whether a warning is legally required is often a disputed question between those who enforce the law on behalf of consumers and the companies who manufacture products containing listed chemicals. To calculate a daily exposure,
As You Sow multiplies the cadmium concentration (ppm) in a product by the serving size of the product to determine the cadmium exposure in micrograms (µg) per serving.
What is Proposition 65 and how is As You Sow enforcing it
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California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 commonly called “Proposition 65,” is a consumer-right-to-know law voted into law by California citizens in 1986. The law protects Californians by requiring companies to warn consumers if products expose them to certain levels of chemicals known to cause cancer and/or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Warning information empowers consumers to protect their health and limit their exposures to toxic chemicals.
While the law is a California right-to-know law, enforcement of the law has had a significant impact in terms of reducing harmful chemicals in consumer products across the United States. Many product manufacturers, rather than providing a warning in California, elect to reduce or eliminate harmful chemicals from their consumer products altogether.
For nearly 30 years,
As You Sow has successfully enforced the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, working with manufacturers and retailers to either provide consumers with cleaner, healthier products or provide a warning so that consumers can make informed choices about the products they use. Enforcement cases brought by
As You Sow include lead and cadmium in chocolate, mercury in fish, toluene in nail polish, lead in herbal supplements, formaldehyde in portable school classrooms, and toxic chemicals in cosmetics and laundry detergent. You can see a list of some of these products on our
Toxic Enforcement page.
