Cadmium

Occurrence in nature: Cadmium is present in all types of soils. The main source of contamination is fertilizers.

Occurrence in tobacco: Cadmium is taken up from the agricultural soil by the roots of the tobacco plant as a pollution and is transported to the leaves. Cadmium has no function in the plant.

Occurrence in foodstuffs: Cadmium is present in trace amounts in virtually all foodstuffs and is generally higher in vegetables, such as potatoes and cereals, than in animal products. Some foodstuffs, for example wild growing field mushrooms, liver and mussels, have relatively high levels of cadmium.There exists no threshold value for cadmium in foodstuffs in Sweden.