The ~uestion of whether an infant's diet represents a health hazard is not new. A health risk to infants from the intake of heavy metals via bottled food cannot be excluded at the present time. It is the purpose of this symposium to increase our knowledge of these disquie ting facts. If 70% of all environmental chemicals, including the ubi quituous heavy metals, enter the human body through food, to what extent are infants affected? Generally speaking, the effect on children has thus far been ex cluded from all the discussions concerning safety margins or limits on heavy-metal intake. Furthermore, this age group has also been largely excluded from studies determining the acceptable daily intake values for other substances. Paradoxically enough, such studies often contain a comment to the effect that children are particularly sensitive to these substances. The lack of consideration is certainly also due to the fact that little attention has been paid to this age group in toxicological research. The ZEBS study Heavy Metals in the Infant Diet by Kaferstein and MUller points to a mechanism which may increase the contamination of infant diet, namely the water used to prepare infant formula. Such facts as well as models for risk characterization have been presented by MUller and Schmidt in these proceedings. Yet many questions remain.

Heavy Metals in the Infant Diet

Quantification in Food Regulatory Toxicology
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Regulatory Strategies for Lead in Foods: Past, Present, and Future
Impact of Infant Growth and Physiology on Heavy Metal Toxicity
Impact of Dietary Components and Nutritional Status of Infants on the Toxicity of Heavy Metals
The Importance of Trace Elements During the Years of Growth
Essentiality and Toxicity of Heavy Metals
The Toxicity of Heavy Metals in the Pregnant Woman, Fetus and Newborn Infant
Absorption of Lead by Infants and Young Children
Nutritional and Maturational Factors Modifying the Absorption of Inorganic Lead from the Gastrointestinal Tract
On the Evidence for the Hypothesis of Lead Induced Disturbances of Neuropsychological Development
The Absorption of Heavy Metals by the Growing Organism: Experimental Experience with Animals
Metallothionein and Its Relationship to the Toxicity of Cadmium and Other Metals in the Young
Recent Animal Studies with Regard to Cadmium Toxicity
Toxicokinetics of Cadmium and Models for the Calculation of the Cadmium Load
The Effects of Cadmium in the Human Organism
The Toxicology of Mercury and Methyl Mercury
The Toxicokinetics of Mercury
Clinical Manifestations and Dose Dependency of Acute and Chronic Methylmercury Intoxication
Special Contribution on Lead Contamination in Glasgow
Summeries
Summary of the Session "Presentation of the Problem"
Summary of the Session "Characteristics of the Mineral Metabolism in Infants"
Summary of the Session "Lead"
Summary of the Session "Cadmium"
Summary of the Session "Mercury"
Final Discussions.