SÉVERIN MILLET
Cadmium in breakfast cereals, aluminum in pastries and sweet biscuits, lead in bread, mercury in fish and acrylamide in fries and sautéed potatoes: French people – children in particular – are exposed to “excessively high” levels of chemical pollutants through their diet. The warning comes from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), which highlighted a “health risk” for three metals (cadmium, aluminum and mercury) and a “health concern” – in the absence of a reference toxicological threshold – for lead and acrylamide, an organic compound formed during cooking methods above 120°C (such as frying or roasting).
These conclusions are based on the third major total diet study (EAT3), the previous one having been conducted between 2006 and 2011. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of chronic exposure to chemical contaminants in food among the population of France. The first results were published on Thursday, February 12. EAT3 targeted more than 250 substances. Further sections, covering other pollutant families (including pesticide residues, PFAS, bisphenols, phthalates, etc.), will be released gradually in the coming years.
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Dining and Cooking