What is cadmium and what are the health risks?

1.What is cadmium and where does it come from?

Cadmium is a trace metal found in the environment. It occurs naturally in the rocks from which soil is formed. Human activities have contributed to its increased presence in soil and are also a source of emissions into water and air. 

In agriculture, the spreading of fertilisers such as mineral phosphate fertilisers and livestock manure is a source of cadmium in agricultural soil. 

In industry, cadmium is used and emitted in a number of sectors, particularly the metallurgical, chemical and electrical industries, as well as during waste incineration and battery recycling. 

2.How are we exposed to cadmium?

All sources of cadmium (industry, fertilisers) can contaminate our environment (air, soil, water, agricultural produce, food). Residual levels of cadmium can be found in consumer products such as cosmetics. 

Food represents the main route of human exposure to cadmium. 

For smokers, tobacco is a further source of cadmium exposure. 

3.Which foods contribute the most to our exposure? 

The foods that contribute the most to our exposure to cadmium are determined by both their cadmium content and the frequency with which they are consumed. 

The main contributing foods for the French are everyday foods containing wheat and cereals (breakfast cereals, bread and dry bread products, croissant-like pastries, pastries, cakes and sweet biscuits, pasta and refined rice and wheat), as well as potatoes and certain vegetables.

Other foods such as molluscs, crustaceans, seaweed and offal contain higher levels of cadmium. Although less commonly consumed in general, they can nevertheless make a significant contribution to the exposure of people who eat them frequently. 

4.Why are highly contaminated foods not necessarily the biggest contributors?

Foods that are highly contaminated but only eaten occasionally contribute less to overall exposure than foods that are less contaminated but eaten daily. For example, chocolate contributes less than 3% of exposure regardless of the age group considered in the French population. It is not therefore among the foods contributing the most. 

5.How does cadmium end up in food?

Present in soil, cadmium is readily taken up by plants through their roots and thus contaminates the food chain. In France, fertilisers account for an average of more than 80% of cadmium inputs to agricultural soil. Mineral phosphate fertilisers are the main source (55%), followed by livestock manure (25%), then sludge and compost (5%).   

Mineral phosphate fertilisers are made from natural calcium phosphate extracted from rock. The cadmium cannot be completely eliminated during the manufacturing process. In France, phosphate rock and the intermediate or finished products made from it are mainly imported from North African countries (primarily Morocco, Egypt and Algeria), where phosphate rock deposits are made up of sedimentary rock. This type of rock has variable, sometimes high, cadmium levels. Conversely, rocks of igneous origin, such as those from South Africa or Russia, generally have low cadmium  concentrations. 

Furthermore, in France, atmospheric deposits account for 14% of cadmium inputs to agricultural soil. Cadmium emissions from industrial sources have fallen sharply in the last 10 years, by 48% in air and 69% in water, thanks to stricter regulations.

6.Are organically produced foods less contaminated with cadmium? 

Foods from organic farming can also contain cadmium. This is because certain fertilisers authorised in organic farming, such as mineral phosphate fertilisers (crushed rock being considered a natural product) and organic fertilisers of residual origin, can also contribute to cadmium inputs to soil. Organic production alone does not therefore prevent exposure to cadmium.

7.Are we overexposed to cadmium?

Over the past 15 years or so, ANSES's work has demonstrated that part of the French population is overexposed to cadmium through food.

The results of the third total diet study (TDS3) showed an increase in the proportion of the population whose dietary exposure exceeds the tolerable daily intake by ingestion for cadmium: between 23% and 27% for children, and between 1.4% and 1.7% for adults.

Moreover, the latest national biomonitoring study (ESTEBAN), conducted between 2014 and 2016 by Santé publique France, revealed that 47.6% of the population aged 18 to 60 years exceeded the critical concentration threshold for cadmium in urine (0.5 μg of cadmium per gram of creatinine). These results show higher contamination of the French population than 10 years ago during the previous 2006–2007 biomonitoring study.

Lastly, the expert appraisal published by ANSES in 2026, which included modelling of cadmium levels in urine for the population in 2025, confirmed that these levels are still being exceeded for part of the population.

8.What are the health risks? 

Cadmium is classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction. It is recognised as carcinogenic to lungs in the workplace. It is also suspected of inducing other types of cancer (pancreas, bladder, prostate and breast). 

In the event of prolonged oral exposure (primarily through food), even at low doses, cadmium causes kidney damage, which may eventually progress to kidney failure and bone fragility, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

Other adverse effects have also been identified, particularly on neurodevelopment and the cardiovascular system.

ANSES's 2026 expert appraisal showed that a significant proportion of the population exceeds the health reference values (biological benchmark values) during their lifetime. ANSES stresses that long-term adverse effects are likely for a growing proportion of the population if no measures are taken to reduce exposure to cadmium.

9.How can exposure be reduced?

Exposure to cadmium is widespread, and concerns a large variety of everyday foods. Decreasing exposure to cadmium therefore relies above all on collective action to achieve a sustainable reduction in cadmium levels in the main contributing foods. 

To do this, it is important to take action on the sources, by limiting the contamination of agricultural soil. This mainly involves applying limit values for cadmium in fertilisers used in agriculture. In its 2016  expert appraisal, ANSES identified several courses of action to reduce soil and food contamination over the long term. 

10.What action can consumers take?

To reduce exposure to cadmium while maintaining a balanced diet, ANSES recommends:

• limiting consumption of sweet and savoury wheat-based products such as breakfast cereals, cakes and biscuits,

• introducing more pulses into meals in place of wheat-based foods such as pasta,

• varying the sources of supply: alternating foodstuffs from different areas or production sectors to avoid repeated exposure to cadmium. 

   

These recommendations are in line with the consumption guidelines of the National Nutrition & Health Plan (PNNS).

Smokers should reduce and stop tobacco consumption as soon as possible, as it is the main additional source of cadmium exposure. 

11.What is ANSES doing about cadmium?

The Agency conducts scientific expert appraisals to assess population exposure to cadmium. 

Its work mainly involves: 

• assessing human exposure from different sources (food, environment, tobacco, consumer products) and routes of exposure;
• defining the health values that are essential for assessing and reducing the risks associated with cadmium exposure:
• an external health-based guidance value by ingestion, i.e. a tolerable oral daily intake of cadmium, below which there are no risks to the health of the general population,
• an internal health-based guidance value, i.e. a concentration of a substance absorbed by the body above which an adverse effect may occur,
• biological (blood, urine) health benchmark values by age group, which correspond to contamination levels not to be exceeded at 60 years of age, given the bioaccumulative nature of cadmium in the body,
• limits on the amount of cadmium in fertilisers, whether industrial or natural, to reduce cadmium contamination of soil and food,
• maximum cadmium levels in food (for example in edible seaweed).

In 2026, the Agency will publish an overall assessment of human exposure to cadmium and prioritise courses of action, based on a socio-economic analysis, to reduce cadmium contamination of the French population.

As part of its total diet studies, ANSES has produced a review of the concentrations of chemical contaminants such as cadmium in food, and the levels of exposure of the general population.

The Agency is also heavily involved in efforts to improve the monitoring of contamination in the food chain, mainly through the work of the surveillance platform for food-chain safety.