Human Exposure through the Diet to Arsenic and Other Toxic Elements: A Literature Review of Scientific Studies Conducted in Catalonia, Spain, in the Current Century.

Human exposure to arsenic and other toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and mercury may lead to a wide range of adverse health effects. In relation to this, it is well established that the diet is the main route of exposure to both essential and toxic trace elements. In recent years, the levels of toxic elements in foodstuffs have been measured in numerous studies conducted all over the world. Scientific databases show that, in the current century, China and Spain have been the countries where the most surveys on this topic have been carried out. Regarding Spain, Catalonia is the region where most studies aimed at determining the concentrations of trace elements in food have been performed. The objective of this paper was to review the studies carried out in Catalonia on the concentrations of As and toxic metals (including Cd, Hg and Pb) in food, as well as their estimated dietary intakes (EDIs). The results of total diet studies (TDSs) and duplicate diet (DD) studies have been included. For most toxic elements, a continued reduction in the EDI has been observed. This reduction is associated with a decrease in their concentrations in food, and with certain changes in dietary habits. Fish and seafood is the food group showing the highest content of toxic elements. However, none of the adult groups exceeded-in general-the safety thresholds for As, Cd, Hg and Pb established by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).