International audience ; The effect of animal age on concentrations of cadmium, lead, arsenic, copper and zinc in bovine tissues (meat, kidney and liver), sampled from animals that were reared in contaminated areas or reference regions in Belgium, was investigated. For cadmium concentrations in meat samples ANOVA analysis showed an increasing trend with age. In addition, a significant positive linear relation (p < 0.05) was found between animal age and renal (R² = 0.56) or hepatic (R² = 0.39) cadmium levels. Lead concentrations in kidneys and liver also increased with age, but the effect was blurred, likely due to the internal remobilisation of lead. For the other trace elements (As, Cu, Zn) no relationship could be found between their concentration in meat, kidneys or liver and animal age. Renal cadmium concentrations were predicted for bovines at different ages by using the slope of the linear regression equation, and taking into account its 95% confidence interval. Calculations for two-year old animals from reference areas showed that in this group the European maximum level of 1 mg kg-1 for Cd in kidneys, would be exceeded in 0-5% of the cases. If a general rejection percentage of maximum 5% would be desirable for kidneys sampled in the reference areas (according to the ALARA-principle ‘As Low As Reasonably Achievable' of EU policy), then (i) kidneys from animals older than two years from the reference areas should a priori not be considered suitable to be placed on the market, or (ii) the maximum level for Cd in kidneys should be increased to 3 mg kg-1. The latter would bear negligible risks for the general population and the majority of high-level kidney consumers. On the other hand, bovine kidneys from the most contaminated areas are not suitable to be brought into the food chain because it is predicted that the maximum level is already exceeded by more than 5% of the one-year-old animals.