Scientists at Agriculture Canada’s Brandon Research Centre hope a new study will uncover ways to reverse rising levels of one of the most common naturally occurring heavy metals found on the Canadian Prairies.
Cadmium levels in food have been creeping up in recent years, attracting the attention of research scientists here and raising concerns about food safety around the world.
“There is growing worldwide concern over increased levels of cadmium in food,” Brandon research scientist William Buckley told farmers during a field day held at the station July 16.
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At high levels, cadmium is toxic to all living organisms. It is stored in the body near the kidneys, and can cause damage if large amounts accumulate, he said.
“This is about trying to head off a problem before it develops.”
The metal is commonly found in durum, flax and sunflowers. The station initiated a biochemistry program to help understand how plants accumulate and store cadmium.
Wind up in grain
So far, scientists have learned durum plants found with less cadmium in the seeds were able to retain the metal in their roots. Where cadmium was released from the roots into the rest of the plant, higher levels ended up in the grain.
The program hopes to develop low-cadmium uptake cultivars and develop management practices connected to the relationship between cadmium accumulation and the movement of water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Buckley said the development of new varieties will focus on lower retention, higher excretion or the ability to bind cadmium to the external cell wall of the plant to avoid absorption.
