Quoted Text

    Food. With the exceptions of seafood, and animal and poultry
    offal, the concentration of arsenic in food appears to be generally
    <0.25 mg/kg. The actual concentrations determined depend upon the
    limits of determination of the method of analysis and the competence
    of the analyst. With the exceptions mentioned above recent information
    (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1982) indicates that the
    concentration of arsenic in food prepared for human consumption is
    commonly <0.02 mg/kg. Plant foods may be contaminated by the
    deposition of atmospheric arsenic emitted by industry (Hislop et al.,
    1982; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1982) or through
    the use of arsenical pesticides, such as lead arsenate (Crecelius,
    1977a).....

Quoted Text

TABLE 2.  ARSENIC CONTENT OF FOOD GROUPS DETERMINED IN THE 1978 UK TOTAL
              DIET STUDY (MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD, 1982)

                                                                          

                           Estimated     Mean arsenic    Estimated mean
          Food group     weight eaten    concentration    daily intake
                           (kg/day)         (mg/kg)           (µg)
                                                                          

    1. Cereals               0.23            <0.02             <5
    2. Meat                  0.15            <0.03             <5
    3. Fish                  0.02             2.71             54
    4. Fats                  0.08            <0.02             <2
    5. Fruits/sugars         0.17            <0.02             <3
    6. Root vegetables       0.18            <0.02             <4
    7. Other vegetables      0.11            <0.02             <2
    8. Beverages             0.12            <0.005            <3
    9. Milk                  0.40            <0.01             <4
                                                                          

    Total                    1.46                             <81
                                                                          
    
         The most significant source of dietary arsenic is fish (including
    shellfish). In the United Kingdom fish forms 2% of the average diet by
    weight but accounts for about 75% of its arsenic content.