Bromide-ion residues in food and feedstuffs

The daily intake of bromide ion by humans was estimated from two total-diet studies conducted in the summer of 1976 and in the winter of 1978 and involving in each case investigation of 100 samples. The average daily intake found was 7.8 mg/person in the first study and 7.6 mg/person in the second study (with ranges of 2.9–15.0 and 1.8–17.2 mg/person/day, respectively). National surveys, covering several thousands of samples, showed that certain leafy vegetables and some herbs could occasionally contain high residues of bromide ion (> 200 mg/kg). An important source of these high residues is the treatment of soils with methyl bromide against nematodes. Action has been taken to minimize contamination of the human diet with bromide ion by this route.