Overview
Lachenmeier applied the margin-of-exposure method to lead and cadmium in unrecorded (home-produced) fruit spirits, using occurrence data from two 2019 studies by Tatarková and colleagues and earlier literature, and compared the result with ethanol. Ethanol carried by far the lowest margin, cadmium risk was negligible, and lead fell below a margin of 1 only for heavy drinkers at maximum concentration.
Key numbers
- Lead: margin of exposure 13 for one standard drink a day at average concentration, 0.9 for four drinks a day at maximum concentration (Table 1).
- Cadmium: margin of exposure 1982 (one drink, average) to 113 (four drinks, maximum) (Table 1).
- Ethanol: margin of exposure 3 (one drink) and 0.8 (four drinks) (Table 1).
Methods (brief)
A desk assessment: no samples were analysed. Margins were calculated as the lead BMDL01 (0.0015 mg/kg bw/day) or cadmium NOAEL (0.01 mg/kg bw/day) divided by estimated intake for two drinking scenarios.
Evidence Fitness
Context only. The paper prints no concentrations of its own, so it supplies risk framing rather than occurrence data, and no concentrations were back-calculated from its margins. Fruit spirits are distilled like whiskey but differ in raw material and equipment, so the paper is at most background for the whiskey page, which is not linked.
Related evidence
Update history
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