Updated interim reference levels for dietary lead to support FDA's Closer to Zero action plan

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses a blood lead reference value (BLRV) to identify elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children.
• The CDC updated its BLRV to 3.5 μg/dL in 2021.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is updating its interim reference levels (IRLs) for lead in food to align with the CDC's updated BLRV.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish updated FDA IRLs for lead in food for children and females of childbearing age.
• To set benchmarks for evaluating potential lead exposure concerns from food.
• To inform public health strategies aimed at reducing children's dietary exposure to lead.

Main Methods:

• The FDA is updating its IRLs for lead in food.
• The new IRLs are 2.2 μg/day for children and 8.8 μg/day for females of childbearing age.
• These IRLs are benchmark values for assessing lead exposure from food.

Main Results:

• The updated FDA IRL for children is associated with BLLs below the threshold predicted to cause intelligence quotient point loss.
• Dietary lead exposure estimates for U.S. children suggest mean exposures may exceed the updated FDA IRL for children.
• This indicates a need for enhanced efforts to minimize lead in foods consumed by young children.

Conclusions:

• The FDA's updated IRLs provide crucial benchmarks for assessing dietary lead exposure in children.
• Current dietary lead exposure levels in U.S. children highlight the necessity for targeted interventions.
• The FDA's Closer to Zero action plan aims to progressively reduce children's exposure to toxic elements in food.