Spungen 2024 — FDA TDS Infant Lead And Cadmium Exposure
Summary
This peer-reviewed FDA Total Diet Study exposure analysis estimates lead and cadmium dietary exposures for infants 0-11 months and children 1-6 years using 2018-2020 TDS concentration data and NHANES/WWEIA consumption data. It is relevant to Category 1 because it identifies processed baby food and infant formula as the largest contributor to infant lead and cadmium exposure among infants not consuming human milk.
Key numbers
- TDS food group “processed baby food and infant formula” includes all processed baby foods, infant formula, and baby water.
- For infants 0-11 months not consuming human milk, mean lead exposure was 1.3 ug/day, with lower-bound and upper-bound estimates 0.9 to 2.0 ug/day.
- For infants 0-11 months not consuming human milk, 90th-percentile lead exposure was 2.4 ug/day, with lower-bound and upper-bound estimates 1.9 to 3.6 ug/day.
- Mean lead exposure by body weight for infants was 0.16 ug/kg bw/day, with lower-bound and upper-bound estimates 0.12 to 0.26 ug/kg bw/day.
- For infants 0-11 months, mean cadmium exposure was 0.19 ug/kg bw/day, with lower-bound and upper-bound estimates 0.18 to 0.20 ug/kg bw/day.
- For infants 0-11 months, 90th-percentile cadmium exposure was 0.39 ug/kg bw/day, with lower-bound and upper-bound estimates 0.38 to 0.40 ug/kg bw/day.
- Foods with high hybrid mean lead concentrations included baby food sweet potatoes at 21 ug/kg and baby food teething biscuits at 18 ug/kg.
Methods (brief)
Lead and cadmium were measured in FDA Total Diet Study foods by ICP-MS. The exposure model mapped NHANES/WWEIA food consumption records to TDS concentration data and estimated lower-bound, upper-bound, and hybrid mean concentration scenarios for non-detects.
Limitations
Many outputs are exposure estimates, not finished-product concentration distributions. The “processed baby food and infant formula” group combines multiple HMTc rows, so row-specific pages should use this source for exposure context and only use product-specific concentration values where the paper names a specific food, such as baby food sweet potatoes or teething biscuits.
Implications
- Certification: Useful A-tier evidence for infant lead/cadmium exposure priority and product-category contributors.
- Courses: Strong example of food-group contribution modeling.
- App: Supports risk weighting for processed baby foods, formula, root vegetables, teething biscuits, grains, and vegetables.
- Microbiome: No direct microbiome endpoint.