E. M. R. K. B. Edirisinghe and B. K. K. K. Jinadasa measured arsenic and cadmium in 181 samples from the North Central Province of Sri Lanka across two cycles in 2016. Crops were mustard (10), maize (45), finger millet (50), sesame (26), cowpea (17), urad dal (11), foxtail millet (7), long bean (5), and green gram (10). Arsenic in this paper is total arsenic. The authors apply an inorganic-arsenic reference dose (3 × 10−4 mg/kg/day) to that total. Cadmium uses 1 × 10−3 mg/kg/day. Finger millet, foxtail millet, and sesame seed do not have ingredient pages, so those crops stay in the matrix list and in this evidence file.
Key numbers
Table 1 is micrograms per kilogram, wet weight. Means are below. Medians and ranges are in the evidence file. Mustard and long bean arsenic means are printed as below the limit of quantification.
| Crop | n | Cd mean | As mean (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mustard | 10 | 13.67 | <LOQ |
| Maize | 45 | 10.37 | 90.94 |
| Finger millet | 50 | 22.38 | 52.67 |
| Sesame | 26 | 37.52 | 105.2 |
| Cowpea | 17 | 7.930 | 60.25 |
| Urad dal | 11 | 21.21 | 47.95 |
| Foxtail millet | 7 | 22.34 | 29.40 |
| Long bean | 5 | 11.53 | <LOQ |
| Green gram | 10 | 27.53 | 46.69 |
The abstract reports overall means of 48.90 ± 34.63 µg/kg arsenic and 19.39 ± 9.508 µg/kg cadmium “on weight basis” without saying wet or dry. Table 1 is the wet-weight record. Limits of quantification are 0.006 mg/kg for cadmium and 18.17 µg/kg for arsenic, which are different unit bases. Certified reference material IRMM 804 rice flour (n = 10) recovered cadmium at 1.875 mg/kg (116%) and arsenic at 0.056 mg/kg (114%). Values below the limit of quantification were replaced with half the limit of detection for the authors’ statistics. Table 3 risk exponents are truncated in this copy and are not copied. Rice inorganic-arsenic limits cited from other instruments are not measurements of these crops.
Methods (brief)
Graphite-furnace atomic absorption (Varian 240 FS with GTA 120). North Central Province, 2016, two cycles.
Evidence fitness
Crop means on a wet-weight basis are usable occurrence evidence for total arsenic and cadmium. They are not inorganic-arsenic measurements.
Limitations
Abstract basis is unlabeled. The edible portion was washed and dried at room temperature before analysis, while Table 1 is labeled wet weight. Both statements are printed. The means stay on the table’s wet-weight label. The inorganic-arsenic reference dose is applied to total arsenic. Three crops have no ingredient page.
Related evidence
Update history
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