Compared to control goats with 300 mu g Cd/kg dry matter ration, the cadmium-poor nutrition of female goats with < 15 mu g Cd/kg semisynthetic ration and an at least fivefold intrauterine depletion of the offspring induced muscular asthenia which was overcome by the administration of the control ration via pharynx probe. The milk of control-and cadmium-deficient goats was systematically investigated on the 1st 14th, 28th and 56th day of lactation over 10 generations. It was demonstrated that the animals with cadmium-poor nutrition produced a 10% ash-, calcium-, magnesium-, iron- and zinc-richer milk. The differences between control and cadmium-deficient goats were significant at the different stages of lactation. In contrast to this result, cadmium-deficient goats produced significantly copper-poorer milk whose copper content reached < 50% of that of control goats. The manganese content in the milk of both groups did not differ. The dry matter, zinc and copper content in the milk decreased significantly with the increasing length of lactation (14th to 56th day of lactation) whereas, as a rule, its ash, calcium, magnesium and iron content increased significantly. Its manganese content was only insignificantly varied by the stage of lactation. The higher macro and trace element excretion of the goats with cadmium-poor rations as well as the reduced zinc and copper secretion via milk are important for the explanation of the deficiency symptoms in the case of cadmium-poor nutrition. Astonishingly. the cadmium-poor nutrition reduced the copper content in the milk in a similar way as the oral offer of 75 mg Cd/kg ration dry matter.

The cadmium contents of 94 and 105 foodstuffs bought in six-fold repetition in 1988 and in nine-fold repetition in 1991, respectively were analysed within the framework of a market-basket study. These foodstuffs were typical of German eating habits. Additionally, 170 samples of drinking water were investigated. The cadmium concentrations of the foodstuffs were comparable with results of recent studies carried out in Europe and North America. Fruit, milk and dairy products, sugar and sugar-rich foodstuffs as well as beverages showed mean cadmium contents < or = 5 ng/g fresh matter or ng/ml, respectively. The cadmium content of meat, sausage, fish and tinned fish was also low. Pork and beef, the most important kinds of meat, contained 5.4 and 2.5 ng/g on average. The majority of the vegetables investigated, including potatoes, had cadmium concentrations < 25 ng/g. However, individuals samples of lettuce showed very high cadmium levels. The cadmium content of bread, cakes and pastries as well as farinaceous products were within the range of 20-40 ng/g. The most important bread, cakes and pastries (wheat and rye bread, toasted bread, rolls) contained 25-35 ng/g. A median cadmium concentration of 0.2 micrograms/l was found in the drinking water. As expected, liver and kidneys showed the highest cadmium levels of 73 and 204 ng/g, respectively on average.