The Consumer Council has found 23 peanut samples containing the toxic heavy metal cadmium, with two of them exceeding the Mainland standard.

A test of 50 peanut products, including peanut butter, biscuits, cookies, pastry, candies, glutinous rice balls and peanut kernels, showed they are free of the pathogenic Salmonella bacteria, cancer-causing substance Aflatoxin or toxic heavy metal lead.

Cadmium, however, was found in 23 samples in quantities ranging from 0.05mg/kg to 0.57mg/kg. Of them, two contained 0.51mg/kg and 0.57mg/kg - slightly in excess of the 0.5mg/kg limit under the Mainland standard.

Too much cadmium may cause kidney damage. 

A 60kg person will be marginally within the safety limit of cadmium if he eats about 160 kernels or 105g daily of the peanut sample with 0.57mg/kg cadmium.