Cadmium in sunflower seeds from three varieties grown in soil
What it found
Sunflower seeds from three varieties grown in a field with moderately high cadmium all contained more cadmium than the limit set for human food.
Washing the seeds did not lower the total cadmium.
What they found
Cadmium in seeds
Seeds from the three varieties contained 0.84, 0.88 and 0.76 mg Cd/kg. All were above the regulation limit of 0.5 mg Cd/kg seeds for human food.
Washing the seeds
On average across the three varieties, washing did not change the total cadmium in the seeds. It slightly raised the cadmium in the kernels and lowered it in the hulls.
Cadmium in kernels
The share of the seed's cadmium that ended up in the edible kernel differed between varieties, ranging from 78 to 87 percent. The total cadmium in the whole seeds did not differ between varieties.
Kernel size and cadmium
The results suggest that the size of the kernel relative to the hull may affect how diluted the cadmium is in the kernel tissues.
Variety differences
There may be genetic differences between varieties in how well they move cadmium from the hull into the kernel.
What the authors conclude
“This opens the perspective to increase food safety by selecting sunflower genotypes that retain more Cd into the hull and transfer less of it to the edible kernel.”
Also in their conclusions
- They suggest that selecting sunflower genotypes that keep more cadmium in the hull and transfer less to the edible kernel could improve food safety.
How it was done
Sunflower plants take up cadmium from soil strongly, and cadmium in seeds matters for food and feed safety.
Three sunflower varieties (ES Biba, Extrasol, Vellox) were grown in a field in a calcareous agricultural soil with a moderately high cadmium content of 1 mg Cd/kg. The cadmium levels in the harvested seeds and in the hulls and kernels were measured.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study looked at three varieties in one field soil, so it cannot show how other varieties or other soils would behave.
- It cannot show whether breeding sunflowers to keep cadmium in the hull would work in practice.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- ITERG: Institut Des Corps Gras, France
The paper
- Title
- Cadmium partitioning between hulls and kernels in three sunflower varieties: consequences for food/feed chain safety
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Nguyen C, Loison JP, Motard C, Dauguet S (2024). Cadmium partitioning between hulls and kernels in three sunflower varieties: consequences for food/feed chain safety. Environmental science and pollution research international. doi:10.1007/s11356-023-31631-0PubMed 38147238DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error