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France: Kids Overloaded With Heavy Metals!
16 Feb
Summary
- French children face high exposure to cadmium, aluminium, lead, mercury, and acrylamide.
- Breakfast cereals, pastries, bread, fish, and potatoes are key sources of contaminants.
- Some children exceed daily tolerable intake levels for cadmium and toxic reference values for aluminium.

Children in France are exposed to high levels of chemical contaminants through their daily food intake, according to a recent study.
Researchers identified risks from heavy metals like cadmium, aluminium, and mercury, alongside concerns about lead and acrylamide. These contaminants are prevalent in common foods such as breakfast cereals, pastries, bread, fish, and potatoes.
The study indicated that a substantial portion of children over three years old exceed the tolerable daily intake for cadmium. Furthermore, 76% of children were found to have aluminium exposure above toxic reference values, a significantly higher rate than adults.
While some contaminants like lead have shown a decrease compared to previous surveys, due in part to public health policies, overall exposure to others remains a concern for the wider European population.




