[Preliminary studies of the content of lead, cadmium and arsenic in feed, cattle and food of animal origin from different production regions of Saxony]

The modern industrial and agricultural production provides many contact points for the food animals with several toxic substances. After their ingestion by the way of feed or water they may endanger the human health as residues or environmental contaminants in food of animal origin. Currently meat, milk and eggs produced on farms in the new federal states of Germany are considered to be dangerous with respect to their xenobiotic burden by numerous consumers. The own trials have been made to give first information about lead, cadmium and arsenic concentrations in feedstuffs, meat and milk from different dairy farms in Saxonia. No serious problems could be detected referring to the metal contents in roughage, grain and crops. Only a few feed samples reached eg. exceeded the permissible upper limits for arsenic and cadmium. But none of the examined feedstuffs contained inadmissible lead concentration. Milk and muscle produced in a metal polluted and not polluted areas were very low in cadmium, lead and arsenic. Total different is the situation in the cases of liver and kidney. Both organs of cows held on farms near a smelter were rich in cadmium and lead. The cadmium concentration in liver and kidney often and the lead concentration sometimes exceeded the permissible upper limits for food. In this context cadmium in kidney of older cows seems to be a problem in general. The results of the own examinations give no information about differences in the mean metal burden of feed and food between new and old federal states of Germany.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)