Heavy Metal Index

Spinach

3 min read

Spinach

Stub page. Contamination profile populates on the next ingest wave. Spinach is a representative leafy vegetable for which the EFSA 2009 occurrence data place cadmium concentrations in the range characteristic of leafy greens generally, reflecting the plant family’s efficient leaf-accumulation of cadmium from soil.

Why this commodity accumulates cadmium

Leafy vegetables as a category concentrate cadmium in their leaves through transpiration-driven translocation from root uptake. Spinach is a more efficient cadmium accumulator than most leafy species because of its characteristic short harvest cycle, high water content, and leaf morphology that maximizes transpiration. Regional variation in finished-spinach cadmium concentrations reflects soil cadmium concentrations and phosphate-fertilizer use in the growing region.

Ranges by source, region, and variety

Pending ingest of commodity-level occurrence data. EFSA 2009 Table 1 reports a mean cadmium concentration in spinach of 0.062 mg/kg across European samples, which places spinach in the upper range of the leafy-vegetable category and above the broad leafy-vegetables mean of 0.023 mg/kg in the same EFSA dataset.

Processing effects

Pending. Washing and peeling are not meaningful interventions for spinach cadmium; the metal is incorporated into the leaf tissue, not deposited on the surface.

Ingredient-derivative risk

Spinach-based baby food purees and infant-targeted leafy-vegetable products inherit the spinach cadmium concentration essentially unchanged after processing. Spinach is a relevant ingredient in the FDA Closer to Zero program for Pb (which applies to processed baby food generally) and would be relevant for any future Cd analogue of the CTZ processed-baby-food action levels.

Mitigation options

Pending. Cultivar selection, soil management, and rotational practices are the primary mitigation levers on the production side; blanching and discarding cooking water have limited effect on cadmium in leaf tissue.

Other metals of concern

Some metals not listed in this section because no ingested source yet covers their commodity-level concern; those will populate when the corresponding source pages are ingested.

Regulatory limits that apply

  • codex-cadmium-mls — Codex matrix-level Cd ML for leafy vegetables (pending ingest of CXS 193-1995).
  • eu-2023-915-cadmium and eu2023-contaminants-maximum-levels — EU maximum levels for leaf vegetables are 0.10 mg/kg (100 ug/kg) Cd and 0.30 mg/kg (300 ug/kg) Pb; spinaches and similar leaves, mustard seedlings, and fresh herbs have a specific Cd maximum level of 0.20 mg/kg (200 ug/kg).

Sources

Auto-generated from source-page frontmatter. The “Used on this page for” column is populated by the orchestrator’s POPULATE-SOURCE-LEGEND action; pending entries appear as *[awaiting synthesis]*.

#CitationYearTypeUsed on this page for
1Cardini et al. 2025. A novel approach for the identification of cadmium-chelating compounds in plant-based foods using SEC-ICP-MS/MS and SEC-QTOF-MS, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry2025Peer-reviewed[awaiting synthesis]
2Seyfferth et al. 2024. Mitigating Toxic Metal Exposure Through Leafy Greens: A Comprehensive Review Contrasting Cadmium and Lead in Spinach, GeoHealth2024Peer-reviewed[awaiting synthesis]
3Chekri et al. 2019. Trace element contents in foods from the first French Total Diet Study on infants and toddlers, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis2019Peer-reviewedFrench TDS Al, Sb, tAs, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn means for vegetable purees including spinach-containing products (as-consumed); multi-element context not available in FDA TDS
4EFSA 2009. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cadmium in food, The EFSA Journal2009Government reportEFSA dietary Cd exposure assessment; spinach identified as high-Cd vegetable (up to 0.2 mg/kg FW in EU surveys); Cd-exposure-driver framing for leafy greens