Cadmium and lead in organically produced foodstuffs from the Greek market

Determinations of cadmium and lead content in a wide variety of organically produced foodstuffs available in the Greek market were carried out in the present study. The mean values detected ranged from non detectable to 53.4 ng g⁻¹ and 65.0 ng g⁻¹ for cadmium and lead, respectively. The highest cadmium concentrations were observed in the food categories of cereals (21.7 ng g⁻¹), followed by leafy vegetables (15.4 ng g⁻¹), whereas for lead the highest concentrations were found in leafy vegetables (33.4 ng g⁻¹), followed by pulses (21.4 ng g⁻¹) and alcoholic beverages (20.0 ng g⁻¹). The comparison of the two metals’ content in certified organically grown foodstuffs to that of conventional ones from the Greek market demonstrates that cadmium and lead concentrations are higher in conventional foodstuffs in a percentage equal to 64% and 61% of the products compared, respectively. The results also show that “uncertified” organic products contained far larger concentrations of cadmium and lead than either the certified organic or conventional foodstuffs. These results demonstrate that although the majority of certified organic products may have lower metal content, organic agriculture as such does not necessarily reduce the cadmium and lead content of organically cultivated products, unless additional provisions are observed.