25th Australian Total Diet Study  

Agricultural and veterinary chemicals

Metal contaminants

• Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, and estimated dietary exposure for the Australian population were consistent with those reported in the international scientific literature.

Inorganic arsenic

• There is no health-based guidance value (HBGV) for inorganic arsenic as international assessments have been unable to establish a safe level of human exposure.
• Estimated dietary exposures to inorganic arsenic were calculated with data for a limited number of foods. Major dietary contributors are rice and rice products; fish and seafood, including crustacea and sushi, and infant cereal products.
• Dietary exposures to inorganic arsenic were determined to be below levels associated with adverse health effects.

Cadmium

• Major dietary contributors to cadmium exposure are root vegetables, savoury snacks including crisps, grain type breads, cakes and baked goods, and berries.
• Dietary exposures to cadmium were compared to the Provisional Tolerable Monthly Intake (PTMI), which determined that there are no public health and safety concerns for Australian consumers.

Lead

• There is no HBGV for lead as international assessments have been unable to establish a safe level of human exposure.
• Major dietary contributors to lead exposure are wide ranging and include water, sweetened soft drinks, baked goods, some dried and tinned fruits, pork, some deli meats, honey, chocolates and fudge.
• Dietary exposures to lead for most Australian consumers are lower than levels considered to be of negligible risk of causing adverse health effects in human populations. For this reason, risks for Australian consumers are considered to be acceptably low. 

Mercury

• Seafood is the major dietary contributor to inorganic mercury and organic (methyl)mercury exposure.

Inorganic mercury

• Dietary exposures to inorganic mercury were compared to the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI), which determined that there are no public health and safety concerns for Australian consumers.

Methylmercury

• Estimated dietary exposures to methylmercury were below the PTWI for all population age groups except 2 to 5 year olds. The most sensitive subgroup–women of child bearing age–had dietary exposure below the PTWI.
• These results indicate that dietary exposures for most Australian consumers are acceptably low. Exceedances of the PTWI for children aged 2 to 5 years should be considered in the context of the known benefits of fish consumption.
• FSANZ already publishes consumer advice to manage dietary exposure to mercury through fish consumption while highlighting the health benefits of fish consumption. This advice will continue to be updated as required to reflect future work on the issue.