Lead, cadmium and aluminum in Canadian infant formulae, oral electrolytes and glucose solutions

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of Pb, Cd and Al concentrations (ng g⁻¹) in formulae and electrolytes (as-consumed).

		Aluminum (ng g^−1)					Cadmium (ng g^−1)					Lead (ng g^−1)
Type of formula	No.	Mean	Median	SD	Min.	Max.	Mean	Median	SD	Min.	Max.	Mean	Median	SD	Min.	Max.
Electrolyte	13	48	5	78	3	263	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.16	0.14	0.10	0.04	0.41
Electrolye, flavoured	8	39	5	98	3	283	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.16	0.16	0.07	0.03	0.24
5% glucose	6	73	6	106	5	239	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.09	0.08	0.03	0.05	0.15
Conc. liquid milk-based	44	131	61	198	2	796	0.13	0.04	0.32	0.02	2.03	0.32	0.29	0.17	0.06	0.85
- plain	12	33	29	26	2	74	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.07	0.26	0.25	0.07	0.18	0.38
- with iron	22	90	71	79	2	228	0.08	0.04	0.09	0.02	0.36	0.28	0.29	0.11	0.06	0.54
- low iron	3	37	37	3	34	39	0.29	0.13	0.40	0.03	0.88	0.40	0.32	0.22	0.25	0.73
- lactose free	7	467	643	310	136	796	0.37	0.07	0.73	0.06	2.03	0.50	0.32	0.27	0.20	0.85
Conc. liquid soya-based	12	706	798	274	266	1047	1.12	0.96	0.34	0.76	1.70	1.19	1.14	0.24	0.88	1.54
- plain	9	688	806	318	266	1047	1.18	1.07	0.37	0.76	1.70	1.25	1.23	0.25	0.90	1.54
- with iron	3	757	792	71	675	804	0.93	0.95	0.03	0.89	0.95	1.03	1.07	0.13	0.88	1.14
Powered, milk-based	57	177	44	230	2	1004	0.17	0.06	0.23	0.01	1.21	0.65	0.34	0.67	0.16	3.46
- plain	15	18	11	16	2	48	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.01	0.07	0.23	0.21	0.06	0.17	0.42
- with iron	24	128	49	139	2	463	0.10	0.07	0.08	0.01	0.31	0.46	0.34	0.34	0.16	1.39
- low iron	3	37	38	3	33	39	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.06	0.39	0.31	0.15	0.30	0.56
- added rice	2	30	30	8	24	35	0.05	0.05	0.01	0.04	0.05	0.87	0.87	0.10	0.80	0.94
- lactose free	6	462	404	309	174	1004	0.48	0.27	0.41	0.19	1.21	1.50	1.05	1.19	0.46	3.46
- hypoallergenic	6	518	538	87	394	628	0.53	0.51	0.19	0.32	0.80	1.58	1.39	0.50	1.06	2.20
- digestible fat modified	1	686	686		686	686	0.40	0.40		0.40	0.40	1.48	1.48		1.48	1.48
Powdered, whey-based	2	39	39	37	13	65	0.84	0.84	0.57	0.44	1.24	0.78	0.58	0.06	0.54	0.62
Powered, soya-based	15	733	713	348	199	1461	1.56	1.39	0.60	1.07	3.47	0.72	1.27	0.35	0.79	1.90
- plain	9	619	713	332	199	1068	1.72	1.75	0.74	1.07	3.47	1.42	1.46	0.40	0.91	1.90
- with iron	6	905	818	323	598	1461	1.31	1.29	0.16	1.11	1.57	1.16	1.20	0.20	0.79	1.38
Powdered, amino acid modified	1	774	774		774	774	0.34	0.34		0.34	0.34	0.86	0.86		0.86	0.86
Powdered, protein-free	1	542	542		542	542	0.30	0.30		0.30	0.30	1.01	1.01		1.01	1.01
RTU, milk-based	67	437	365	485	10	3442	0.23	0.11	0.27	0.03	1.26	0.90	0.84	0.54	0.14	2.46
- plain	19	379	255	306	10	955	0.21	0.07	0.22	0.03	0.68	0.96	0.60	0.76	0.23	2.46
- with iron	28	372	247	624	11	3442	0.12	0.08	0.09	0.03	0.38	0.73	0.62	0.45	0.14	1.80
- low iron	4	242	181	172	110	494	0.08	0.07	0.03	0.05	0.11	0.91	0.79	0.27	0.74	1.31
- lactose-free	6	622	598	229	371	896	0.20	0.21	0.08	0.07	0.28	1.10	1.17	0.14	0.86	1.22
- hypoallergenic	10	814	792	296	458	1310	0.67	0.71	0.40	0.16	1.26	1.12	1.03	0.38	0.49	1.78
RTU, soya-based	14	730	769	277	234	1121	1.18	1.06	0.55	0.71	2.95	1.45	1.36	0.32	1.10	2.10
RTU, whey	1	510	510		510	510	0.15	0.15		0.15	0.15	0.74	0.74		0.74	0.74
RTU, modified fat supplement	1	72	72		72	72	0.25	0.25		0.25	0.25	1.85	1.85		1.85	1.85
Note: RTU, ready-to-use.

Table 2. Comparison of current Al, Pb and Cd levels in ready-to-use formula with previous Canadian surveys.

	Al, ng g^−1, mean (range)		Pb, ng g^−1, mean (range)		Cd, ng g^−1, mean (range)
	1990^a	This study	1989^b	This study	1989^b	This study
Milk-based	130	440	1.58^c	0.90	0.35	0.23
	(10–360)	(10–3400)	(0.36–6.08)	(0.14–2.46)	(0.032–3.4)	(0.03–1.26)
Soya-based	1980	730		1.45	3.39	1.18
	(400–6400)	(230–1100)		(1.1–2.1)	(3.12–14.8)	(0.71–2.95)
Notes: ^aDabeka and McKenzie (1990).
^bDabeka (1989).
^cPb values for 1989 survey include both milk- and soya-based formulae.

Table 3. Variation in Al levels in plain soya-based infant formulae by manufacturer.

Manufacturer^a	Type	n	Mean (ng g^−1)	SD (ng g^−1)
Company B	Ready-to-use	4	781	57
Company A		6	939	153
Company C		4	367^a	156
Company B	Concentrated liquid	3	831	59
Company A		3	956	102
Company C		3	279^a	16
Company B	Powdered	3	702^b	75
Company A		3	945	113
Company C		3	209^a	16
Notes: ^aStatistically lower (p ≤ 0.003) than either Company B's or Company A's product of the same type.
^bStatistically lower (p = 0.036) than Company A's powdered soya formula.

Table 4. Impact of container material on levels of Al in ready-to-use^a infant formulae.

Manufacturer, product type	Company B, soya-based		Company B, milk-based		Company A, soya-based		Company A, milk-based		Company C, soya-based^b
Container	Glass	Metal	Glass	Metal	Glass	Metal	Glass	Metal	Glass	Metal
Individual lot concentrations (ng g^−1)	859	725	362	99	997	836	405	109	568	234
		759		93	1084	864	457	189		412
		779		76	1121	730	442	118		253
Mean (ng g^−1)	859	754	362	89	1067	810	435	139	568	300
Glass container contribution (ng g^−1)	105		273		257^c		295^c		268
Notes: ^aReady-to-use formulae were the only ones sold in both glass and metal containers.
^bFor Company C, the soya-based products in glass and cans differed by caloric content, and the differences in Al concentration may also have been due to the different formulations.
^cDifferences between glass and metal containers for Company A were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.009) for both soy- and milk-based formula. For all other manufacturers and formula types, the single concentration value for aluminum in the glass bottled container exceeded the upper 95% confidence interval for the corresponding formula stored in metal containers.

Dabeka , RW and McKenzie , AD . 1990 . Aluminium levels in Canadian infant formulae and estimation of aluminium intakes from formulae by infants 0–3 months old . Food Addit Contam A , 7 : 275 – 282 .

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Dabeka , RW . 1989 . Survey of lead, cadmium, cobalt and nickel in infant formulas and evaporated milks and estimation of dietary intakes of the elements by infants 0–12 months old . Sci Total Environ , 89 : 279 – 289 .

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