Meanwhile,
Invisible poison infiltrates our plates::
Multiple sources whose phosphate fertilizers – Invisible poison infiltrates our plates:
Cadmium is naturally present in the environment. Furthermore, but its concentrations have exploded with industrialization. Moreover, “”We know that the soils of areas located near old non -ferrous metal industries (Editor’s note: in the Liège region. Therefore, in campine for example) are more contaminated“, Specifies Dr. Meanwhile, Patrice Dufour, expert in toxicology at the CHU de Liège.
Coming in particular from metallurgy. Meanwhile, the combustion of fossil fuels and especially the use of phosphate fertilizers, this metal accumulates in soils and waters, then in plants. Furthermore, The exposure is then done through food: leafy vegetables such as spinach or salads, cereals, rice, potatoes, abases and seafood. For example, Current consumption foods, all in all. In addition. Moreover, the scientific body in a Walloon environment of The ISSEP (Scientific Public Service Institute) invisible poison infiltrates our plates: insists that cadmium is very bioavailable and easily accumulates in these foodstuffs, even in the event of moderate soil contamination.
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Added to this is tobacco. Consequently, “”In smokers, cadmium urinary rates are about twice as high as in non-smokers“, Underlines Dr. Similarly, Dufour.
Classified as a certain carcinogenic for humans by the International Center for Research on Cancer (Circ). For example, Cadmium is associated with lung, prostate and kidney cancers. Consequently, The links with those of the pancreas and breast are also strongly suspected. Consequently, “”The two main signs of chronic cadmium toxicity (excluding cancer) are renal damage and bone involvement. Cadmium will accumulate in the kidney where it will induce cellular dysfunction and damage. At the bone level, cadmium can speed up the demineralization linked to the invisible poison infiltrates our plates: bone age. In exposed populations, we will therefore observe an increase in cases of osteomalacia and osteoporosis“Adds Dr. Catherine Pirard, also an expert in toxicology at the CHU de Liège.
In Belgium, a broadcast exhibition
Invisible poison infiltrates our plates:
In France, the subject makes great noise. In 2021. the National Public Health Agency (ANSES) revealed an increase in contaminations, with levels of impregnation much higher than those observed elsewhere in Europe. On June 2, liberal doctors went a step further by denouncing a “Sanitary bomb” in a letter addressed to the government.
Belgium, it adopts a more measured tone. The Federal Food Safety Agency (AFSCA) says that cadmium levels in controlled products largely comply with European standards. Out of more than 2,000 samples analyzed between 2022 and 2024, the compliance rate reached almost 99 %. And the situation would be less critical than in France. invisible poison infiltrates our plates: the cadmium content of Belgian fertilizers being almost three times lower.
“In the BMH-WA study (Walloon Human Biomonitoring) that we have conducted in collaboration with the ISSEP. the results have shown that the vast majority of the population had cadmium levels lower than the thresholds beyond which a health risk is possible“, Specify the two experts from the CHU de Liège, Dr Catherine Pirard and Dr Patrice Dufour.
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Questionable thresholds
Should we lower the guard? Respect for regulatory thresholds does not guarantee the lack of risk. The scientific community agrees that cadmium accumulates in the body over time, making the poisoning slow and progressive. The BMH-WA study also shows that concentrations are increasing with age. In addition. the thresholds are defined for each food taken in isolation, while it is invisible poison infiltrates our plates: the sum of daily exposures, via water, air, food, consumer products, which constitutes the real danger.
Children, growing, are particularly sensitive. Dr Pirard specifies: “The situation is more problematic for children. adolescents and young adults whose larger proportion exceeds the reference values beyond which health risks can intervene.“In France. an ANSES study thus highlighted that a in five child exceeds the tolerable thresholds, in particular via breakfast cereals and bread. No similar alert has been issued in Belgium, but the Walloon Biomonitoring Data invite vigilance.
Smokers, residents of former industrial sites, and people frequently consuming offal or seafood are also more at risk. Target information campaigns could help reduce their exposure.
“At the biological level. there is no systematic monitoring in Belgium, but several studies involving several hundred volunteers have been carried out. Some clinical biology laboratories offer the dosage of urinary cadmium. this invisible poison infiltrates our plates: is our case, but requests are rare and mainly come from occupational physicians“Explains Dr. Dufour.
How to protect yourself?
Faced with this diffuse. persistent pollution, individual gestures are not enough to stop the trend, but they can reduce risks. Varying your diet. limiting the consumption of food at risk, washing your hands regularly and quitting smoking are simple strategies to adopt.
Favoring organic products can also be useful: a meta-analysis of more than 300 scientific studies showed in. 2014 that foods from organic farming contain almost half as much cadmium as those from conventional agriculture.
Faced with this public health issue, a structural political response is nevertheless awaiting. While France begins to supervise phosphate fertilizers more strictly, Belgium is slow to follow. A long -term plan to reduce pollution at source seems essential: it would imply. according to the recommendations of the OECD, invisible poison infiltrates our plates: more sustainable agricultural practices, better protection of water catchments and increased transparency on the origin of food.
The ISSEP has launched a new phase of biomonitoring aimed at expanding the spectrum of the substances analyzed. better understanding their interactions. An initiative welcomed by researchers, who call for a collective start.
“We would obviously like more means. that things go faster for the monitoring of exposure to cadmium, but also to other pollutants such as PFAS, PCB, bisphenols, pesticides … It should be noted that studies tend to become more frequent. Europe has implemented remarkable initiatives to launch large -scale studies on the exposure of the European population to several dozen pollutants. of which Cadmium is a part. Things evolve in the right direction“Concludes Dr Dufour.
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