Survey of lead and cadmium in adult canned foods eaten by young children.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration survey of lead and cadmium in 10 adult canned foods commonly eaten by children less than 5 years old was conducted between October 1981 and September 1985. The survey, which included foods preserved by a commercial canning process and packaged in metal containers, found the highest mean levels of lead (0.32 micrograms/g) in tuna and of cadmium (0.02 micrograms/g) in tuna and tomatoes. Lead levels in foods packaged in lead-soldered cans were about 5 times as high as those in foods packaged in nonlead-soldered cans. Mean lead levels appeared to decline over the 4 years of the study. Cadmium levels were usually below the data reporting limit (0.01 micrograms/g).