A laboratory test conducted by the French magazine 60 Millions de Consumers analyzed several packages of penne rigate for contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and mycotoxins. Among the results that attract the most attention is that relating to cadmium, identified in 16 of the 18 references examined.
The quantities detected still remain within the limits set by the legislation, but the comparison between the different products shows rather marked differences.
Cadmium in feathers: what the test found
On the cadmium front, only two of the 18 pens analyzed, belonging to the French brands Marque Repère and U, had no detectable traces of the metal.
In the other products, however, the concentrations varied significantly: starting from 0.009 mg/kg in Delverde pens up to 0.066 mg/kg in Barilla wholemeal pens, which recorded the highest value among all the references in this category.
It is precisely the result of the Barilla integral pens that stands out most in the test: for the cadmium parameter they in fact obtained a rating defined as “very insufficient”, despite remaining below the limit established by law.
Barilla’s Penne Rigate Protein+ are also among the five products to which the magazine assigned the same negative rating for this contaminant.
How Italian pens are positioned
Looking at the overall evaluation, which takes into account not only the contaminants but also the other parameters analyzed by the magazine, some Italian references still obtained relatively high scores.
Barilla’s Penne Rigate Protein+ achieved 14.8 points out of 20.
Immediately after we find Penne Rigate n. 41 by De Cecco, who obtained an overall result of 14.7/20.
Penne Rigate n. Garofalo’s 70 instead stopped at 13.4/20.
The lowest score assigned to Penne Rigate n. 66 gluten-free by Rummo, which scored 11.8/20.
The picture therefore shows how the overall rating of a product does not depend exclusively on the presence of cadmium: a paste can obtain a good overall rating and, at the same time, present a less favorable result for a specific contaminant.
Because cadmium is under observation
Cadmium is a heavy metal that can occur naturally in the soil and enter foods through crops.
According to what the magazine reported, for non-smokers, food represents one of the main routes of exposure to this contaminant. Among the foods that can contribute to the intake of cadmium there are also products derived from cereals, including pasta.
The point to consider is not so much the consumption of a single portion, but rather repeated exposure over time, given that cadmium can accumulate in the body.
Durum wheat, used to produce most pasta, is also particularly affected by the presence of this metal. The French group that monitors cadmium in the food supply chain found an average value of 0.056 mg/kg in durum wheat, still far below the European limit of 0.18 mg/kg set for wheat.
And on the pesticide front?
The test provides more reassuring indications regarding pesticides. The magazine looked for a total of 728 molecules in the 36 pasta samples subjected to analysis. Around two-thirds of the products had no detectable residues, regardless of whether they were traditional, wholemeal, organic or gluten-free pasta.
The Italian pastas analyzed obtained the highest score on this parameter. In the products in which traces of pesticides were found, the levels were still lower than the maximum permitted limits. The substances identified include piperonyl butoxide, deltamethrin and clopyralid.
Mycotoxins are also under control
The analyzes also covered mycotoxins, substances that can be produced by some molds present on crops before harvesting or during storage.
Overall, according to the test, a particularly alarming situation does not emerge, even if some values have approached the regulatory thresholds.
Precisely among pens, for example, ochratoxin A reached 2.1 µg/kg in Barilla wholemeal pens, compared to a limit set at 3 µg/kg.
The test therefore highlights important differences between one reference and another: all the values found remain within the expected limits, but some pens show less favorable results, especially with regards to cadmium.
