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. 2024 Dec 25;14(1):18.
doi: 10.3390/foods14010018.

Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia

Aleksandra Nešić  1 , Milica Lučić  2 , Jelena Vesković  3 , Ljiljana Janković Mandić  1 , Milan Momčilović  4 , Andrijana Miletić  3 , Antonije Onjia  3
Affiliations

Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia

Aleksandra Nešić et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Chocolate is one of the most popular and widely consumed confectionery products. However, elevated cadmium (Cd) content in this commodity threatens food safety and human health. It is crucial to monitor the presence of Cd in chocolate and to evaluate its associated health risks. This study assessed the Cd levels in milk and dark chocolates from the Serbian market (n = 155). Cadmium concentrations varied between 0.010 and 0.29 mg/kg. The obtained values were used to evaluate the hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR). The estimated weekly intakes (EWIs) were below the tolerable limits for all samples. However, in some samples, the EWI reached 60.9% and 63.5% of the tolerable limit for toddlers and other children, respectively. No health risk was found based on the HQ. On the other hand, based on CR values, all chocolate products can be classified as posing a moderate risk. The Monte Carlo simulation indicated that toddlers and other children were more exposed to non-carcinogenic risk, whereas vegetarians, adults, pregnant women, and other children were more exposed to cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis indicates that body weight, exposure frequency, and ingestion rate are the most influential factors for non-cancer and cancer health risks.

Keywords: Monte Carlo; cacao; cancer; dark chocolate; health risk; milk; non-carcinogenic; sensitivity; theobroma; weekly intake.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cadmium content in chocolate samples vs. cacao content %.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monte Carlo simulation of HQ and CR for various consumers of chocolate due to Cd ingestion. The 90th percentiles were as follows: for adolescents HQ = 1.4 × 10−2 and CR =9.3 × 10−6; for adults HQ = 1.4 × 10−2 and CR =3.3 × 10−5; for elderly HQ = 1.2 × 10−2 and CR =1.2 × 10−5; for other children HQ = 4.7 × 10−2 and CR =1.9 × 10−5; for pregnant women HQ = 1.7 × 10−2 and CR =3.1 × 10−5; for toddlers HQ = 4.5 × 10−2 and CR =1.0 × 10−5 and for vegetarians HQ = 1.9 × 10−2 and CR =4.1 × 10−5.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sensitivity analysis of HQ and CR for adults due to ingestion of Cd via chocolate consumption.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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