Probabilistic risk assessment of dietary cadmium in the South Korean population

Global interest in the adverse health effects of cadmium (Cd) has focused on dietary exposure as the principal source of Cd exposure to the general population. Common assumptions used in deterministic Cd assessment in global or regional diets have limitations when applied to specific national cases where local variation in food composition and consumption patterns are different than for global or regional norms. Stochastic dietary Cd exposure assessment was conducted for the general South Korean population to understand better Cd dietary intake. Because rice (Oryza sativa) is commonly and highly consumed by Koreans, it was the dominant contributor to Cd in the diet, representing on average 25% of the total dietary exposure for the general population. Hazard index (HI) values were below the level of concern for the 95th percentile of the general population. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that variation in rice intake and Cd concentration had the greatest influence on the Cd risk estimate for the general population. Changes in food sources, such as the use of imported rice with higher Cd levels, would lead to increased Cd exposure in the diet, thus necessitating continued vigilance as to the status of Cd within the food supply.