BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment MEAL study: no vanadium was detected in most foods
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment MEAL study provides information on the average amounts of beneficial and potentially harmful substances contained in the most commonly consumed foods in Germany. The acronym "MEAL" stands for "Meals for ExposureExposureTo glossary Assessment and Analysis of Food". Since 2016, food has been purchased for the MEAL study in usual places and then prepared according to typical household recipes. Food is cooked, fried and baked in a study kitchen especially set up for the study - exactly as consumers do at home. The food samples are then analysed in the laboratory. The study focuses on more than 300 different substances.
In the study, the individual substances are grouped according to their content into work packages or modules. In the core module, the vanadium levels were examined in pooled samples.
No vanadium content was detected in most of the 356 foods tested (97%). The highest concentrations were measured in chewing gum, cocoa powder and dried spices.
Vanadium is a light grey element that usually occurs in the earth's crust in combination with oxygen, sodium, sulfur or chlorine. Due to its diverse properties, it is used industrially e.g. in alloys for superconductors and semiconductors, ceramic production, energy generation and as a catalyst.
Vanadium can, for example, enter the environment via industrial emissions, fossil fuels or geogenic sources and subsequently into drinking water or food crops.
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment MEAL study provided the opportunity to generate a comprehensive database on vanadium levels in food. Vanadium was examined in 356 foods on the MEAL food list in the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment MEAL study. The foods were purchased between December 2016 and May 2019 in four different regions throughout Germany, with the product selection taking into account the different purchasing habits of the population as well as possible production-specific (organic/conventional production) and seasonal characteristics for some of the foods. In order to achieve a representative compilation of the samples, information on the preparation behavior of consumers was collected and generated from market data. The foods were prepared in the MEAL study kitchen, replicating typical consumer behavior [1]. The foods and dishes were then pooled (combined) and homogenized [2]. For the analysis of vanadium, a total of 869 pools were formed, each consisting of 15 - 20 individual foods. This includes 29 drinking water pools from different regions. The pools represent the combinations of different purchasing regions (national, east, south, west, north), purchasing times (non-seasonal, season 1, season 2) [3] and production types (non-specific, organic, conventional) [4] . The pools of the production type 'organic' and the drinking water samples are not included in the present evaluation. Table 1 shows the main food groups as well as the number of samples and the statistical key figures of the vanadium concentrations in samples from non-specific and conventional production. The pools of the production type 'organic' were not taken into account, as there are only marginal differences between organic and conventional production due to the high proportion of non-quantifiable vanadium contents. The foods were assigned to 19 main food groups. The key figures were calculated from the mean values of the pools of each foodstuff. The presentation is based on the modified lower bound (mLB) approach (if result < limit of quantification [LOQshort forLimit of quantification] and > limit of detection [LODshort forLimit of detection], then value = LODshort forLimit of detection; if result < LODshort forLimit of detection, then value = 0) and upper bound (UB) approach (if result < LOQshort forLimit of quantification, then value = LOQshort forLimit of quantification; if result < LODshort forLimit of detection, then value = LODshort forLimit of detection). Overall, about 97 % of the pools from non-specific and conventional production (667 of 690 pools; excluding drinking water) have no detectable or quantifiable vanadium levels.
In view of the high rate of samples with non-detectable or non-quantifiable levels, there is no comparison of the main food groups with each other or between the regions or purchase dates. Similarly, the statistical key figures are derived vastly from the numerical values of the LOQshort forLimit of quantification and LODshort forLimit of detection due to the high proportion of non-quantifiable vanadium levels. Among the foods examined, chewing gum, cocoa powder and dried spices showed the highest concentrations (Table 2).
In the regional drinking water samples, no vanadium was detected in 27 pools (LODshort forLimit of detection = 0.0003 mgshort formilligram/kgshort forkilogram) and no vanadium was quantifiable in the remaining 2 pools (LOQshort forLimit of quantification = 0.001 mgshort formilligram/kgshort forkilogram).
The results regarding the vanadium concentrations of the core module are now also available to the public as a "Public Use File": External Link:www.bfr-meal-studie.de/de/public-use-file.html
[1] Hackethal C, Kirsch F, Schwerbel K, Kolbaum AE, Gotte S, Schwerdtle T, Lindtner Oshort foroxygen, Sarvan I (2023). Filling data gaps to refine exposure assessments by consideration of specific consumer behavior. German Food Review, 119 (7), 277-288
[2] Sarvan I, Bürgelt M, Lindtner Oshort foroxygen, Greiner M (2017). Exposure assessment of substances in food. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment MEAL Study - the first total diet study in Germany. Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz, 60 (7): 689-696. doi: External Link:10.
[3] Season 1: Season with mainly imported goods, as expected. Season 2: Season with, as expected, mainly goods produced in Germany.
[4] In the case of foods that were not analyzed stratified by type of production, the type of production is referred to as non-specific. This can include samples from both conventional and organic production.