Heavy Metal Index
Ask the IndexAboutIndex Pro

Occurrence of and Dietary Exposure to Toxic Element Impurities in Food Additives: A Probabilistic Exposure Assessment for the Belgian Population

Cite this pageVersion history

Overview

This peer-reviewed study measured lead, cadmium, total arsenic, inorganic arsenic, mercury, and aluminum in 109 commercial food additive samples covering 17 additives available on the Belgian market. It coupled these occurrence data with probabilistic dietary exposure estimation (Monte Carlo simulation) using national consumption data from the Belgian Food Consumption Survey (2014-2015, n = 3,200) to assess the contribution of food additives to total dietary toxic element exposure. The study represents the most comprehensive independent occurrence dataset for toxic elements across multiple food additive classes in the peer-reviewed literature as of 2026.

Key numbers

Measured concentrations in mg/kg dry weight, additive as sold (Table 4 in source):

Lead:

  • Iron oxides/hydroxides (E 172, n=6): median 1.8 mg/kg (1800 ppb), max 7.4 mg/kg (7400 ppb)
  • Calcium carbonate (E 170, n=8): median 0.27 mg/kg (270 ppb), max 1.8 mg/kg (1800 ppb)
  • Magnesium carbonate (E 504, n=5): median 0.21 mg/kg (210 ppb), max 0.74 mg/kg (740 ppb)
  • Magnesium oxide (E 530, n=5): median 0.21 mg/kg (210 ppb), max 1.2 mg/kg (1200 ppb)
  • Guar gum (E 412, n=6): median 0.096 mg/kg (96 ppb), max 0.73 mg/kg (730 ppb)
  • Carob bean gum (E 410, n=5): median 0.058 mg/kg (58 ppb), max 0.32 mg/kg (320 ppb)
  • Carrageenan (E 407, n=6): median 0.014 mg/kg (14 ppb), max 0.064 mg/kg (64 ppb)
  • Lactic acid (E 270, n=5): below LOQ (less than 1-3 ppb), max 0.004 mg/kg (4 ppb)

Total arsenic:

  • Carrageenan (E 407, n=6): median 0.38 mg/kg (380 ppb), max 1.6 mg/kg (1600 ppb)
  • Calcium carbonate (E 170, n=8): median 0.28 mg/kg (280 ppb), max 1.2 mg/kg (1200 ppb)
  • Calcium phosphate (E 341, n=6): median 0.30 mg/kg (300 ppb), max 0.74 mg/kg (740 ppb)
  • Magnesium oxide (E 530, n=5): median 0.25 mg/kg (250 ppb), max 0.84 mg/kg (840 ppb)

Inorganic arsenic (speciation by LC-ICP-MS):

  • Carrageenan (E 407, n=6): median 0.056 mg/kg (56 ppb). Only additive with detectable inorganic arsenic.
  • All other 16 additives: below inorganic arsenic (iAs) LOQ throughout.

Cadmium:

  • Carob bean gum (E 410, n=5): median 0.019 mg/kg (19 ppb), max 0.087 mg/kg (87 ppb)
  • Carrageenan (E 407, n=6): median 0.009 mg/kg (9 ppb), max 0.056 mg/kg (56 ppb)
  • Most other additives: below cadmium LOQ of 0.003-0.010 mg/kg.

Mercury:

  • All 109 samples across all 17 additives: below LOQ (LOQ 0.001-0.005 mg/kg for organic additives, 0.003-0.005 mg/kg for mineral additives).

Aluminum:

  • Measured by ICP-MS/MS in HMI mode for mineral additives; LOQ 0.5-2.0 mg/kg. Study-wide results reported but complete per-additive medians not tabulated in the main results table as published.

Dietary exposure from food additives, mean consumer:

  • Lead: less than 1% of BMDL01 (0.50 µg/kg body weight per day)
  • Cadmium: less than 2% of TWI (2.5 µg/kg body weight per week)
  • Inorganic arsenic: less than 5% of BMDL0.5 (0.3 µg/kg body weight per day)
  • Mercury: less than 0.5% of TWI (4.0 µg/kg body weight per week)

Iron oxides (E 172) contributed the most to lead via food additives. Carrageenan (E 407) contributed the most to inorganic arsenic via food additives.

Methods

  • Mineralization: microwave-assisted acid digestion per EN 13805:2014 (CEM Mars 6).
  • lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), aluminum (Al), total arsenic (As): ICP-MS/MS (triple quadrupole), EN 15763:2010. Mineral additives measured in High Matrix Introduction (HMI) mode.
  • Inorganic arsenic speciation: LC-ICP-MS (Thermo iCAP RQ), anion exchange column, EN 15763 supplementary procedure.
  • Mercury: direct mercury analyzer (DMA), no digestion required.
  • CRM: brown rice flour NMIJ 7532-a for inorganic arsenic (certified value 0.298 plus or minus 0.008 mg/kg).
  • LOD = LOQ divided by 3 throughout. LOQ determined from procedure blanks under repeatability conditions.
  • Dietary exposure: probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation coupled to Belgian Food Consumption Survey 2014-2015.

Evidence fitness

This is the primary independent occurrence dataset for this page. All 109 samples were purchased from the Belgian market and analyzed independently. No manufacturer-submitted batch data are used in this source page. Arsenic speciation was performed for all 17 additives; inorganic arsenic was quantified only in carrageenan. The small per-additive sample counts (4-8) limit confidence in upper-tail estimates for any individual additive but provide useful cross-additive comparison. The Belgian market samples represent the European supply, which shares EU specification limits and sourcing patterns with other EU member states.

Limitations

Per-additive sample sizes are small (n=4-8), limiting distributional tail estimates. Sampling dates are not reported. The survey covers 17 additives; other permitted additives are not measured. Aluminum results are measured but not fully tabulated per additive in published form. Inorganic arsenic speciation is conducted only for carrageenan, leaving iAs fractions in other arsenic-containing additives (calcium carbonate, mineral carbonates) uncharacterized.

Update history

No substantive edit history is available in this build. The full commit record is available in git.

Referenced by