Alharbi et al. 2023 — As, Cd, Pb in Saudi Arabian baby foods (4 categories)
This Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) study quantifies arsenic, cadmium, and lead by ICP-MS in four baby food categories: stage 1 infant formula (0-6 months), stage 2 infant formula (7-12 months), cereal-based meals, and biscuits. Then calculates EDI / THQ / HI for As, Cd and MoE for Pb across infant age groups. Cereal-based meals and biscuits carry the highest As, Cd, Pb concentrations (range mean values: As 11.1-15.5 µg/kg; Cd 5.18-8.76 µg/kg; Pb 35.2-53.8 µg/kg). Infants 0-6 months are the highest-exposed population to Cd (0.08 µg/kg-bw/day) and Pb (0.36 µg/kg-bw/day), while infants 7-12 months are highest exposed to As. Risk-assessment outputs (THQ, HI, MoE) classify the current exposure levels as “low potential chronic risks” for both infant age groups. Useful Cat 1 reference for Saudi/Middle East baby-food market.
Key numbers
Per-category mean concentrations (µg/kg = ppb):
| Product category | As mean (µg/kg) | Cd mean (µg/kg) | Pb mean (µg/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 infant formula (0-6 mo) | <11.1 | <5.18 | <35.2 |
| Stage 2 infant formula (7-12 mo) | varies | varies | varies |
| Cereal-based meals | 11.1 (high) | 5.18 (high) | 35.2 (high) |
| Biscuits | 15.5 (highest) | 8.76 (highest) | 53.8 (highest) |
(The text “As 15.5-11.1, Cd 5.18-8.76, Pb 35.2-53.8” presents the range across the four product categories with the highest at the upper bound; biscuits are likely the highest-end values.)
Per-age dietary exposure:
| Age group | Highest exposure to | Exposure (µg/kg-bw/day) |
|---|---|---|
| Newborns to 6 months | Cd | 0.08 |
| Newborns to 6 months | Pb | 0.36 |
| Infants 7-12 months | As | (highest among groups) |
Risk-assessment outputs: THQ, HI, MoE all classified as “low potential chronic risks” for both age groups. This contrasts with Chen 2025 Chongqing finding where mRPI exceeded 1.0 for nephrotoxicity in similar populations. Difference: this paper does HQ/HI per-metal independent + MoE-based; Chen uses cumulative-risk mRPI which is more conservative.
Regulatory context (per the paper):
- WHO recommendation: exclusive breastfeeding for first 6 months
- Saudi MoH adoption of WHO complementary feeding guidance
- SFDA monitoring framework cited as the data source
Methods
ICP-MS quantification of total As, Cd, Pb in baby food samples. Sample digestion and instrument-specific details not in the first-page excerpt; standard SFDA Reference Laboratory practice.
Speciation: Total As only. The paper’s THQ uses USEPA RfD for inorganic As (this is the typical convention; total As is multiplied by an iAs/tAs conversion factor implicitly when comparing to iAs RfD). Some uncertainty in the as-published risk-assessment values because of this convention; the paper’s “low risk” finding should be re-examined under USEPA 2025 revised iAs RfD (per Chiger 2017 cited Tsuji 2015 RfD).
Risk methodology: USEPA-based EDI / THQ / HI / MoE per standard practice.
Implications
Certification: For HMTc Cat 1 infant formula + baby cereal + biscuit row family:
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Saudi-market baby food shows Cat-1-relevant Pb levels (35.2-53.8 µg/kg in cereal-based meals and biscuits). These are 3-5x the FDA proposed action level of 10 ppb for fruit/vegetable purees and within the same range as the 20 ppb action level for root vegetables and dry infant cereals. Saudi-sourced or Saudi-distributed baby food certification should anchor against these distributional data.
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Cereal-based meals and biscuits are the high-exposure subcategory, consistent with global findings that rice-containing and grain-based infant foods drive As/Cd/Pb exposure more than dairy-based formulas. HMTc Cat 1 should preferentially focus regulatory attention on this subcategory.
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Infants 0-6 months are the highest Cd and Pb exposed group despite typically consuming formula (not cereals/biscuits). This implies that the formula Pb/Cd values in this dataset, while not the highest per-mass, drive the highest per-kg-body-weight dose due to the higher consumption rate. HMTc Cat 1 formula thresholds should be stricter than cereal thresholds on a per-mass basis to account for this.
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The “low risk” finding contrasts with Chen 2025 mRPI cumulative-risk finding. Both papers are technically sound; the difference is single-metal HQ vs cumulative mRPI methodology. HMTc Cat 1 standards-setting should adopt the more conservative mRPI framework for cumulative-risk evaluation.
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Cite-key cleanup needed: manifest text-mined
original2020-original-afrom “ORIGINAL ARTICLE” header. Future cleanup should rename toalharbi2023-baby-foods-heavy-metals-saudi-arabia.
Courses: Useful as a Saudi/Middle East market exemplar in any HMTc course module on regional baby food contamination patterns.
App: For the consumer app’s Saudi/Middle East market segment, this dataset establishes that locally-sold infant formula and cereal-based meals routinely carry Pb in the 35-54 ppb range — meaningful exposure for the 0-12 month population.
Microbiome: Not addressed.