Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Samples and Chemicals
2.2. Preparation of Samples
2.3. Instrumentation
2.4. Health Risk Assessment
2.4.1. Estimated Weekly Cd Intake
2.4.2. The Non-Carcinogenic and Carcinogenic Risks
2.4.3. Monte Carlo Simulations
3. Results
3.1. Cadmium Concentration in Chocolates
Type of Chocolate | Number of Samples (n) | Country | Cd, mg/kg | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Milk chocolate (cacao content <50%) | 101 | Serbia | 0.013–0.17 | This study |
50 | United States | 0.0003–0.161 | [17] | |
7 | Africa † | 0.0423 ± 0.0249 | [23] | |
12 | Latin America † | 0.0970 ± 0.0964 | [23] | |
21 | India | 0.140 ± 0.080 | [33] | |
1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.25 | [39] | |
35 | Japan | 0.012–0.31 | [34] | |
5 | Croatia | 0.00115–0.03394 | [40] | |
70 | Italy | N.D.–0.050 | [37] | |
6 | Turkey | 0.141 | [4] | |
22 | India | 0.010–0.852 | [35] | |
9 | Brazil | 0.0078–0.0144 | [8] | |
Black chocolate (cacao content > 50%) | 49 | Serbia | 0.014–0.29 | This study |
101 | United States | 0.0077–0.843 | [17] | |
8 | Africa † | 0.1054 ± 0.1073 | [23] | |
26 | Latin America † | 0.4247 ± 0.2924 | [23] | |
22 | India | 0.190 ± 0.270 | [33] | |
1 | Ecuador * | 0.429 ± 0.026 | [19] | |
1 | Dominican Republic * | 0.107 ± 0.012 | [19] | |
1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.50 | [39] | |
10 | Serbia | 0.025–0.242 | [36] | |
140 | Japan | 0.025–2.3 | [34] | |
7 | Croatia | 0.01895–0.1053 | [40] | |
35 | Italy | 0.019–0.207 | [37] | |
6 | Turkey | 0.209 | [4] | |
23 | India | 0.010–2.730 | [35] | |
11 | Brazil | 0.0221–0.1076 | [8] | |
1 | West Africa ** | 0.144 | [2] | |
2 | East Africa ** | 0.201 ± 0.031 | [2] | |
8 | South America ** | 0.615 ± 0.398 | [2] | |
2 | Central America ** | 0.142 ± 0.051 | [2] | |
35 | Malaysia | 0.01–0.2 | [38] | |
69 | Lebanon ♦ | 0.023–0.352 | [5] | |
30 | Lebanon ● | 0.048–0.383 | [5] | |
Not specified type of chocolate | 33 | Africa | 0.20 ± 0.11 | [1] |
14 | Asia | 0.12 ± 0.07 | [1] | |
22 | Central America | 0.33 ± 0.30 | [1] | |
69 | South America | 0.58 ± 0.52 | [1] | |
9 | Saudi Arabia | 0.0006–0.060 | [41] | |
- | Nigeria | <0.05–0.2 | [42] |
3.2. Health Risk Assessment
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Type of Chocolate | Cacao Content, % | n | Cd (Min–Max) mg/kg | Mean Cd., mg/kg | Median, mg/kg | MRL, mg/kg |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Milk chocolate | <30 | 3 | 0.013–0.030 | 0.024 | 0.031 | 0.1 |
Milk chocolate | ≥30 and <50 | 98 | 0.010–0.17 | 0.028 | 0.023 | 0.3 |
Dark chocolate | ≥50 | 49 | 0.014–0.29 | 0.057 | 0.042 | 0.8 |
Toddlers (1–3 Years) | Other Children (4–9 Years) | Adolescents (9–17 Years) | Adults (18–64 Years) | Elderly (>64 Years) | Pregnant Women | Vegetarians | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HQ mean | 2.69 × 10−2 | 2.37 × 10−2 | 1.20 × 10−2 | 9.40 × 10−3 | 7.91 × 10−3 | 8.14 × 10−3 | 1.19 × 10−2 |
HQ min | 9.68 × 10−3 | 8.05 × 10−3 | 2.95 × 10−3 | 2.95 × 10−3 | 2.68 × 10−3 | 2.59 × 10−3 | 4.03 × 10−3 |
HQ max | 1.65 × 10−1 | 1.37 × 10−1 | 8.15 × 10−2 | 6.03 × 10−2 | 4.56 × 10−2 | 4.40 × 10−2 | 7.50 × 10−2 |
CR mean | 5.81 × 10−6 | 1.54 × 10−5 | 8.07 × 10−6 | 2.83 × 10−5 | 1.29 × 10−5 | 2.75 × 10−5 | 3.64 × 10−5 |
CR min | 2.53 × 10−6 | 4.21 × 10−6 | 1.80 × 10−6 | 7.72 × 10−6 | 3.51 × 10−6 | 6.77 × 10−6 | 1.05 × 10−5 |
CR max | 1.72 × 10−5 | 1.13 × 10−4 | 4.97 × 10−5 | 1.60 × 10−4 | 9.45 × 10−5 | 2.25 × 10−4 | 2.18 × 10−4 |
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Nešić, A.; Lučić, M.; Vesković, J.; Mandić, L.J.; Momčilović, M.; Miletić, A.; Onjia, A. Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia. Foods 2025, 14, 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14010018
Nešić A, Lučić M, Vesković J, Mandić LJ, Momčilović M, Miletić A, Onjia A. Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia. Foods. 2025; 14(1):18. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14010018
Chicago/Turabian StyleNešić, Aleksandra, Milica Lučić, Jelena Vesković, Ljiljana Janković Mandić, Milan Momčilović, Andrijana Miletić, and Antonije Onjia. 2025. "Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia" Foods 14, no. 1: 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14010018
APA StyleNešić, A., Lučić, M., Vesković, J., Mandić, L. J., Momčilović, M., Miletić, A., & Onjia, A. (2025). Impact of Chocolate Cadmium on Vulnerable Populations in Serbia. Foods, 14(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14010018