Heavy Metals in Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Foods Consumed by Humans Worldwide: A Scoping Review

Sonia Collado-López, Larissa Betanzos-Robledo, Martha María Téllez-Rojo, Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa, Moisés Reyes, Camilo Ríos and Alejandra Cantoral
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Sonia Collado-López: School of Public Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca 62100, Mexico
Larissa Betanzos-Robledo: Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca 62100, Mexico
Martha María Téllez-Rojo: Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca 62100, Mexico
Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa: Department of Perinatal Health, Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca 62100, Mexico
Moisés Reyes: Economics Department and GEOLab-IBERO, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City 01219, Mexico
Camilo Ríos: Neurochemistry Department, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, México City 14269, Mexico
Alejandra Cantoral: Health Department, Universidad Iberoamericana, México City 01219, Mexico

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-25

Abstract: Heavy metals (HM) can be accumulated along the food chain; their presence in food is a global concern for human health because some of them are toxic even at low concentrations. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods are good sources of different nutrients, so their safety and quality composition should be guaranteed in the most natural form that is obtained for human consumption. The objective of this scoping review (ScR) is to summarize the existing evidence about the presence of HM content (arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), methylmercury (MeHg), and aluminum (Al)) in unprocessed or minimally processed foods for human consumption worldwide during the period of 2011–2020. As a second objective, we identified reported HM values in food with respect to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Food Standards for Maximum Limits (MLs) for contaminants in food. This ScR was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR); advance searches were performed in PubMed, ScienceDirect and FAO AGRIS (Agricultural Science and Technology Information) databases by two reviewers who independently performed literature searches with specific eligibility criteria. We classified individual foods in food groups and subgroups according to the Global Individual Information Food Consumption Data Tool (FAO/WHO GIFT). We homologated all the reported HM units to parts per million (ppm) to determine the weighted mean HM concentration per country and food group/subgroup of the articles included. Then, we compared HM concentration findings with FAO/WHO MLs. Finally, we used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to present our findings. Using our search strategy, we included 152 articles. Asia was the continent with the highest number of publications ( n = 79, 51.3%), with China being the country with the largest number of studies ( n = 34). Fish and shellfish ( n = 58), followed by vegetables ( n = 39) and cereals ( n = 38), were the food groups studied the most. Fish ( n = 42), rice ( n = 33), and leafy ( n = 28) and fruiting vegetables ( n = 29) were the most studied food subgroups. With respect to the HM of interest, Cd was the most analyzed, followed by Pb, As, Hg and Al. Finally, we found that many of the HM concentrations reported exceeded the FAO/OMS MLs established for Cd, Pb and As globally in all food groups, mainly in vegetables, followed by the roots and tubers, and cereals food groups. Our study highlights the presence of HM in the most natural forms of food around the world, in concentrations that, in fact, exceed the MLs, which affects food safety and could represent a human health risk. In countries with regulations on these topics, a monitoring system is recommended to evaluate and monitor compliance with national standards. For countries without a regulation system, it is recommended to adopt international guidelines, such as those of FAO, and implement a monitoring system that supervises national compliance. In both cases, the information must be disseminated to the population to create social awareness. This is especially important to protect the population from the consumption of internal production and for the international markets of the globalized world.

Keywords: heavy metals; food contamination; unprocessed or minimally processed foods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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