efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
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Chromium in <strong>food</strong> and <strong>drinking</strong> <strong>water</strong><br />
described for most of the <strong>food</strong> groups at FoodEx level 1, a broad range of concentrations was reported<br />
among the different <strong>food</strong> subgroups. The highest concentrations were observed for ‘Chocolate (cocoa)<br />
products, unspecified’ (1428 g/kg, n = 421), together with ‘Chocolate bars’ (886 g/kg, n = 5). The<br />
high <strong>chromium</strong> levels detected in the chocolate products notably influenced the mean occurrence<br />
values in the <strong>food</strong> group ‘Sugar and confectionery’.<br />
Another <strong>food</strong> group that stands out among the others due to its <strong>chromium</strong> levels was ‘Animal and<br />
vegetable fats and oils’ (LB = 263 g/kg and UB = 301 g/kg, n = 186). The main subgroups<br />
responsible for the high levels of <strong>chromium</strong> reported for this <strong>food</strong> group were the high levels found in<br />
some vegetable oils such as ‘Sunflower oil’ (LB = 592 g/kg and UB = 680 g/kg, n = 57) and<br />
‘Rapeseed oil’ (LB = 425 g/kg and UB = 427 g/kg, n = 11). Other <strong>food</strong> samples with reported high<br />
levels of <strong>chromium</strong> were animal fats such as ‘Pork lard (Schmaltz)’ (LB = 263 g/kg and<br />
UB = 264 g/kg, n = 20) and ‘Butter’ (LB = 176 g/kg and UB = 179 g/kg, n = 23). Results reported<br />
in the literature on <strong>chromium</strong> levels in this type of <strong>food</strong>s are somehow contradictory, probably due to<br />
the low number of samples analysed. While in the second French TDS study (Nöel et al., 2012) high<br />
concentrations of <strong>chromium</strong> were reported in oils (1000 g/kg), butter (640 g/kg) or margarine<br />
(590 g/kg), a previous study in Turkey found very low levels in different types of vegetable oils<br />
included sunflower oil (Pehlivan et al., 2008).<br />
The most reported <strong>food</strong> group was ‘Vegetables and vegetable products (including fungi)’ with a total<br />
of 4 647 samples. Although this <strong>food</strong> group at FoodEx level 1 showed relatively high concentrations<br />
of <strong>chromium</strong>, an exhaustive evaluation of the different <strong>food</strong> subgroups provided a different<br />
conclusion. Only very specific <strong>food</strong> commodities within this <strong>food</strong> group presented high concentrations<br />
of <strong>chromium</strong> while the rest showed, in general, relatively low concentrations (below 100 g/kg).<br />
Foods contained in the <strong>food</strong> subgroups ‘Cocoa beans and cocoa products’ and ‘Tea and herbs for<br />
infusions (Solid)’ reported the highest concentrations. Particularly high were the values reported for<br />
‘Cocoa powder’ (n= 239) with average values of 4345 g/kg (LB = UB), although all cocoa-related<br />
products had high concentrations of <strong>chromium</strong>. It is also important to mention that chocolatecontaining<br />
<strong>food</strong>s had higher concentrations of <strong>chromium</strong> as compared to other <strong>food</strong> commodities at<br />
the same FoodEx level. This was the case for ‘Croissant, filled with chocolate’ (358 g/kg, LB = UB)<br />
or ‘Chocolate and chocolate products for diabetics’ (1226 g/kg, LB = UB). Regarding ‘Tea and herbs<br />
for infusions (Solid)’, apart from one sample of ‘Maté (Ilex paraguariensis)’ with reported<br />
concentration of 6930 g/kg, ‘Ginseng root (Panax ginseng)’ and ‘Camomile flowers (Matricaria<br />
recutita)’ had the highest concentrations of <strong>chromium</strong> with 1327 g/kg and 1150 g/kg, respectively<br />
(LB = UB). Both ‘Cocoa beans and cocoa products’ and ‘Tea and herbs for infusions’ have been<br />
reported in the literature as possessing high amounts of <strong>chromium</strong>. As an example, different cocoa<br />
samples and chocolate products were recently analysed for <strong>chromium</strong> values in the range 260-6260<br />
g/kg (Sager, 2012). Similarly, high values of <strong>chromium</strong> have been reported in different herbs and<br />
infusions in a study carried out in Turkey (Başgel and Erdemoğlu, 2006), with concentrations in the<br />
range of 340-1220 g/kg.<br />
In the remaining <strong>food</strong> subgroups from ‘Vegetables and vegetable products (including fungi)’ there<br />
were only few <strong>food</strong>s for which high concentrations of <strong>chromium</strong> were reported. Examples of these<br />
<strong>food</strong>s are samples of ‘Sea weeds’ (441 g/kg, LB = UB), ‘Chilli pepper (Capsicum frutescens)’<br />
(1137 g/kg, LB = UB.), ‘Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes)’ (LB = 345 g/kg and<br />
UB = 364 g/kg) or ‘Sun-dried tomatoes’ (423 g/kg, LB = UB) (see Appendix E for details).<br />
EFSA Journal 2014;12(3):3595 44