Risk assessment on the dietary heavy metal exposure and aluminium exposure of Finnish adults. Finnish Food Authority Research Reports 1/2020

The risk assessment studied the exposure of working-age and elderly Finns to cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, nickel and aluminium via food and drinking water. Adults have lower exposure than children (earlier assessment: Evira’s Research Reports 2/2015), but the tolerable intake threshold was still exceeded by a part of the population. The magnitude of lead and inorganic arsenic intake was such that health hazards could not be ruled out, but their probability is low or at most moderate. One in five women over the age of 45 have an elevated risk of osteoporotic fracture due to cadmium exposure, even though the cadmium content of fertilisers is subject to national restrictions designed to reduce exposure. The greatest dietary exposure to heavy metals was faced by women of fertile age, that is 25–45 years. The mercury exposure of this group was low, however.

In addition to the magnitude and sources of exposure, the risk assessment studied the impact of identified changes in eating habits on the exposure of consumers. Exposure was assessed on the basis of the Findiet 2007 and 2012 studies. A rough estimate was also made of the impact of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s recommended diet on the exposure of consumers.

The report contains an extended summary in English.