Total Arsenic and Arsenic Speciation in Infant Foods, Alcoholic Beverages, Fish, Shellfish and Crustaceans – April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that can be found in the Earth's crust. Arsenic may be released into the air, water and/or soil through natural erosion/leaching or through man-made activities. The primary routes of human exposure to arsenic are through drinking water and food. The presence of arsenic in food is expected as a result of natural accumulation from the environment ^Footnote 1.

Arsenic can exist in both organic and inorganic forms in food; the inorganic forms are widely considered to be much more toxic to humans. The ratio of inorganic to organic arsenic species can vary widely depending on the source of contamination and the commodities in which it is present. While inorganic arsenic is the predominant species in drinking water, organic arsenic species are the main forms found in aquatic organisms (such as seaweed, fish, shellfish and crustaceans). Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic may lead to a variety of detrimental health effects in humans, including affecting the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver, lungs and skin as well as contributing to the risk of certain cancers ^{Footnote 2  Footnote 3 Footnote 4}.

The CFIA's regular monitoring activities examine the levels of total arsenic in various commodities but have not examined speciated arsenic to a great extent. As such, there is a need for surveillance data on the presence and levels of total arsenic as well as the various forms of arsenic, specifically levels of inorganic arsenic, in Canadian retail products.

A variety of domestic and imported grape-based alcoholic beverages (wine, brandy, sherry, vermouth) and rice-based infant foods, domestic fish and domestic shellfish and crustacean samples were sampled between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. Samples were collected from local/regional retail locations located in 11 major cities across Canada. These cities encompassed 4 Canadian geographical areas:

• Atlantic (Halifax, Moncton)
• Quebec (Montreal, Quebec City)
• Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa)
• West (Calgary, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg)

The number of samples collected from these cities was in proportion to the relative population of the respective areas. Domestic products may indicate that they are manufactured or processed in Canada with domestic and/or imported ingredients.The shelf life, storage conditions, and the cost of the food on the open market were not considered in this survey.

Samples were analyzed by a CFIA laboratory which is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited for food testing. The results are based on the food products as sold and not necessarily as they would be consumed.

Contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods have regulatory MLs. In 2014, Health Canada established regulatory tolerances for arsenic in a variety of ready-to-serve beverages, and upon the completion of this survey tolerances for inorganic arsenic in rice were established ^Footnote 5. Compliance is assessed against the established tolerances available when the survey was carried out. In the absence of a specific ML, the levels of arsenic may be assessed by Health Canada on a case-by-case basis using the most current scientific data available.

A total of 343 samples domestic and imported grape-based alcoholic beverages (wine, brandy, sherry, vermouth) and rice-based infant foods, domestic fish and domestic shellfish and crustacean samples were analysed for total arsenic and 6 arsenic species. All of the survey samples contained traces of arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in 81.6% of products tested.

When considering the levels of only the inorganic species (noted to be much more toxic to humans than other forms of arsenic), fish had the lowest average levels, whereas rice-based infant food contained the highest average concentrations of inorganic arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all wine and infant food samples tested. The proportions of inorganic arsenic varied across the commodity types tested in this survey, with wines containing the highest proportions of inorganic arsenic.

Clams had higher inorganic arsenic levels than other types of shellfish and crustaceans. Highest levels of inorganic arsenic reported in this survey (up to 425 ppb) were in clam samples. All fish types had comparable average inorganic arsenic levels. The highest level of inorganic arsenic in fish (5.32 ppb) was found in a sample of mackerel, a filter feeding fish. As previously observed ^Footnote 6, the ranges of total arsenic concentrations in fish and shellfish and crustaceans are much wider than the range of inorganic arsenic levels detected in these commodities. These differences reinforce that the majority of arsenic species in aquatic products are organic in nature.

The detection rates and the levels recorded for total and inorganic arsenic in the products tested in this targeted survey were comparable to those previously found in similar product types (Table 3) ^{Footnote 6  Footnote 7  Footnote 8}. Some differences observed may be due to the specific type of product tested or sample size.

Levels of total arsenic observed in rice-based infant foods were within the range observed for rice-based products in previous survey years and closely matched the average level of arsenic of 78.62 ppm for infant foods containing rice that were tested as part of the 2019 Children's Food Project (CFP) ^Footnote 9.

Upon completion of this survey, Health Canada established regulatory tolerances for inorganic arsenic in husked (brown) and polished (white) rice ^Footnote 5. Although compliance is only assessed against the established tolerances available when the surveys are carried out, all infant food samples tested in 2019 would have met current MLs for inorganic arsenic in rice.

All survey results were forwarded to Health Canada for health risk assessment and were determined to pose no concern to human health.