Boron in Food
Boron content in food
|
Boron content of some common foods
|
|
Food
|
Boron concentration in mg/kg, fresh
weight basis
|
|
Hunt et al. (1991)
|
Anderson et al. (1994b)
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Fruits
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Apple, red with peel, raw
|
2.73
|
2.38
|
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Apple juice
|
1.88
|
2.41
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Apple sauce
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2.83
|
1.04
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Banana, raw
|
-
|
3.72
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Cherries, dark
|
1.47
|
0.92
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Grape juice
|
2.02
|
2.06
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Orange juice
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0.41
|
1.59
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Peaches, canned
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1.87
|
-
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Pears, canned
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1.22
|
-
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Dried fruits
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Dates
|
9.2
|
-
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Prunes
|
27
|
21.5
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Raisins
|
25
|
19.0
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Vegetables
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Beans, green
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0.46
|
1.56
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Broccoli, flowers
|
1.85
|
-
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Broccoli, stalks
|
0.89
|
-
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Lettuce, iceberg
|
<0.015
|
-
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Carrots, canned
|
0.75
|
-
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Nuts
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Almonds
|
23
|
-
|
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Hazelnuts
|
16
|
-
|
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Peanuts
|
18
|
13.8
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Meats
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Beef, round, ground, raw
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<0.015
|
<0.05
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Chicken, breast, ground, raw
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<0.015
|
0.09
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Turkey breast
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<0.015
|
-
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Milk & milk products
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Cheese, cream
|
<0.015
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0.19
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Milk, 2%
|
<0.015
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0.23
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Cereal grain products
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Bread, white, enriched
|
0.20
|
0.48
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Cornflakes fortified
|
0.31
|
0.92
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Flour, wheat, white
|
0.28
|
-
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Noodles,egg, dry, enriched
|
0.37
|
-
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Rice, white, instant
|
<0.015
|
-
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Spaghetti, dry, enriched
|
<0.015
|
-
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Miscellaneous
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Catsup
|
0.85
|
1.39
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Eggs, homogen-ized
|
<0.015
|
0.12
|
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Honey
|
7.2
|
6.07
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Jelly, strawberry
|
0.41
|
-
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Jelly, grape
|
1.47
|
1.86
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Sugar,
white
|
<0.015
|
0.29
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Beverages
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Boron concentration in µg/ml
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|
Wine
|
-
|
3.5
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Beer
|
1.8
|
0.13
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Source & © IPCS
Environmental Health Criteria for Boron (EHC
204), chapter 5.2.4
"Dietary intake" 
How much food
would I have to eat each day to reach
the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI)?
The amount of food which has to be eaten per day to reach the TDI depends
-
on the amount of boron in each food, and
-
on the body weight of the individual adult or
child.
The US EPA has established a standard body weight of 70 kg for an adult, and has also established median body weights of 13.2 kg for a child aged 1-3 years,
and 24.9 kg for a child aged 1-14 years (Ref US-EPA, 2002).
small children (1-3y) - children (1-14y) - adults
Small children: Foods with a relatively high boron content which are suitable for small children include bananas (up to 3.7 mg boron/kg), apples
(up to 2.7 mg boron/kg) and dried fruits such as prunes and raisins (at up to 27 mg boron/kg). A small child weighing 13.2 kg would need
to eat more than sixty times the average daily amount of these foods each day to reach the TDI, as shown in the table below.
|
Boron Consumption for a small
child
(13.2 kg body weight)
|
|
Food
|
Daily amount needed to reach the
TDI
|
Average daily amount eaten (age
1-2) (REF US EPA 2002)
|
|
Bananas
|
1.4 kg
|
0.022 kg
|
|
Apples
|
1.9 kg
|
0.024 kg
|
|
Dried Fruit
(Prunes, Raisins)
|
0.2 kg
|
0.002 kg
|
Children: Older children are also able to eat nuts, such as peanuts and almonds, which have boron contents of up to 23 mg boron/kg. The table below shows
that the median child aged 1-14 years and weighing almost 25 kg would need to eat more than 80 times the average daily consumption of
these foods to reach the TDI.
|
Boron Consumption for a mid-range
child
(24.9 kg body weight)
|
|
Food
|
Daily amount needed to reach the
TDI
|
Average daily amount eaten (age
6-14)
(REF US EPA 2002)
|
|
Bananas
|
2.7 kg
|
0.008 to 0.011 kg
|
|
Apples
|
3.7 kg
|
0.021 to 0.028 kg
|
|
Dried Fruit (Prunes, Raisins)
|
0.4 kg
|
Less than 0.0005 kg
|
|
Nuts (Almonds, Peanuts)
|
0.4 kg
|
0.005 kg
|
Adults: Adults weigh more than children, and thus have to eat even more boron-containing food to reach the TDI. Detailed average consumption figures for different types of food are not given in the EPA report for adults, but the values given for male children aged 12 to 19 should be comparable, or perhaps higher than the average adult consumption. The table below shows that the average adult would need to eat more than 200 times the average daily amount consumed by a teenaged male in order to reach the TDI for boron.
|
Boron Consumption for an adult
(70 kg body weight)
|
|
Food
|
Daily amount needed to reach the
TDI
|
Average daily amount eaten (male age
12-19) (REF US EPA 2002)
|
|
Bananas
|
7.5 kg
|
0.008 kg
|
|
Apples
|
10.3 kg
|
0.013 kg
|
|
Dried Fruit (Prunes, Raisins)
|
1.0 kg
|
0.001 kg
|
|
Nuts (Almonds, Peanuts)
|
1.2 kg
|
0.005 kg
|
However, it would be possible for an individual adult or child to consume enough food with a high boron content to reach the TDI, on any specific day.
This would be most likely for a small child, for whom consumption of over 200 g of prunes or raisins on a single day would exceed
the TDI for boron on that day.
However, the TDI represents a tolerable daily intake for a life-time exposure. Occasional exceeding of the TDI may not necessarily lead to health consequences, provided that the averaged intake over longer periods remains below it.
Source & © Dr. Kay Fox for GreenFacts, based on a comparison between data from
Related publication:
Other Figures & Tables on this publication:
Boron - Units and Measurement Methods
Boron in Food
