Heavy metals in Plantain

Plantain overview

Plantain has little monitoring data for metals, and the evidence that exists points in two directions. Plantain submitted to WHO GEMS/Food was mostly low: three cooked plantain samples from the WHO African region in 2018 had lead of 5 µg/kg or less and no detectable cadmium, mercury or arsenic, and four of five fresh plantain samples from the Americas in 2014–2016 had 1.5 µg/kg lead or less than detection limits of 1–5 µg/kg.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} The exception was one imported fresh plantain in 2016 at 174 µg/kg lead, above the 100 µg/kg limit that Codex and the EU apply to fruit.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →7Codex Alimentarius Commission · 1995General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995)Codex Alimentarius (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme)Read source →}

Plantain grown beside rivers used for illegal gold and diamond mining in Ghana measured far higher. Raw peeled pulp from farms at Obuasi and Akwatia averaged 1,020 and 1,110 µg/kg lead and 120–130 µg/kg mercury in 2019, on a basis the paper does not state but that appears to be the wet pulp.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Plantain from farms around the Tarkwa gold mines, sampled in 2012, had a geometric mean of only 7 µg/kg lead, so a mining district alone does not predict high lead.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} Ripening can add arsenic: in a Nigerian experiment, plantain ripened with calcium carbide had 5,930–9,940 µg/kg total arsenic against 1,640 µg/kg when ripened naturally, although that study’s arsenic levels are far above all other plantain data.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

For a buyer, the supported priority is lead, measured on the edible pulp on a stated fresh-weight basis with a method that can see well below 100 µg/kg, together with the farm area where the plantain grew.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →} In the one study that tested household cooking, boiling and frying left lead at 40–70 µg/kg from about 1,000 µg/kg in the raw pulp, a change in concentration rather than a measured removal.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →}

What counts as plantain

This page covers plantain, the starchy cooking banana (Musa, often written Musa × paradisiaca), eaten cooked or as chips.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} It does not cover the sweet dessert banana, which has its own page, and no banana value is used here. The herb also called plantain, Plantago (ribwort or narrowleaf plantain), is a different plant used in teas and herbal products, so its results are excluded.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →9Kowalska G · 2021The Safety Assessment of Toxic Metals in Commonly Used Herbs, Spices, Tea, and Coffee in PolandInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthRead source →}

Mixed dishes are also outside this page. A Nigerian survey reported metals in “beans with plantain”, but the plantain’s share of that dish cannot be separated from the beans.^{10Iyabo OO, Ogundiran MB, Adebayo OL · 2015Toxic and Essential Metals in Staple Foods Commonly Consumed by Students in Ekiti State, South West, NigeriaInternational Journal of ChemistryRead source →} A Colombian study listed “Musa × paradisiaca” among local fruits without saying whether it meant plantain or banana, and its plant concentrations sit in a supplement the library does not hold.^{11Unknown authors · 2023Health Risk Assessment for Human Exposure to Heavy MetalsPeer-reviewed articleRead source →}

Heavy metal contamination profile of plantain

The table holds every plantain result extracted from five sources: 23 individual WHO GEMS/Food records, three field studies from Ghana and Nigeria and one Nigerian ripening experiment, one row for each statistic a source reports for a subgroup and metal.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} Fresh, cooked, dry-weight, ripened and unstated-basis results are kept apart because no study reported the moisture needed to convert between them.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} No plantain basis yet has the four reference units needed for an HMI rating, so the comparisons shown are within two studies: boiled, fried and roasted portions cut from the same raw Ghanaian samples, and carbide-ripened against naturally ripened plantain from one bunch.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

Four values are held and shown without comparison: three Tarkwa cells whose digits cannot be read unambiguously in the library’s copy, and one ripening-study control lead value printed identically to that study’s mango result.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} Non-detects remain intervals up to their reporting limit and are never read as zero.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

How metals reach plantain

The plantain studies point to soil, river water and dust in mining areas as the main sources. In Ghana, farms beside rivers used for illegal small-scale mining produced plantain pulp with about 1 mg/kg lead and 0.12–0.13 mg/kg mercury.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Around Tarkwa, soil-to-plantain transfer was lowest for chromium and highest for nickel (mean factor 2.2, the only metal above 1), and transfer did not correlate with soil pH or organic matter.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →}

Arsenic may also arrive from the air. The Tarkwa authors linked arsenic in plantain, an aerial fruit, to wind-borne arsenic from ore roasting rather than to soil uptake, an explanation they did not test.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} Plantain is eaten peeled, and the Ghanaian study washed and peeled every sample before analysis, so none of the measured values includes the peel.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →}

Contamination can also be added after harvest. The technical calcium carbide used to ripen fruit in a Nigerian experiment contained 21.75 mg/kg arsenic and 0.881 mg/kg lead, and plantain ripened with it had more arsenic than plantain ripened naturally.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

Which plantain forms and origins measured lower

For lead, the lowest results come from monitored plantain and from the Tarkwa farms.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} Three cooked samples from the WHO African region (below 1.3 to 5 µg/kg) and four of five fresh samples from the Americas (1.5 µg/kg or below detection limits of 1–5 µg/kg) were lowest, followed by Tarkwa farm plantain (median 5 µg/kg, range 2.2–20 µg/kg).^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} The highest were raw pulp from Ghanaian farms on mining-polluted rivers (1,020–1,110 µg/kg) and one imported fresh sample in the Americas (174 µg/kg).^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} These are lowest observed values in different studies with different bases and methods, not a ranking of countries or a sourcing preference.

The two Ghanaian mining districts show why origin alone is not a reliable guide. Tarkwa plantain in 2012 and Obuasi and Akwatia plantain in 2019 all grew in gold or diamond mining areas, yet their lead differed more than fiftyfold even allowing for the unclear bases.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} The studies differ in year, basis and method, and the Ghanaian farms sat on rivers used for mining, so the gap cannot be attributed to any one cause.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →}

Cadmium, mercury and arsenic were usually low.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} Cadmium was below 0.3 µg/kg in cooked monitoring samples and about 1 µg/kg at Tarkwa, though one Nigerian study reported 110 µg/kg on a dry-weight basis.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →} Mercury was below 4.2 µg/kg in monitoring and 1 µg/kg at Tarkwa, but 120–130 µg/kg in the Ghanaian mining-river plantain.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →} Arsenic was below 1–20 µg/kg in monitoring and 12–20 µg/kg in the Ghanaian studies, but the Sokoto ripening study reported 1,640 µg/kg in naturally ripened plantain, with no detection limit or quality control reported, so that level is not comparable.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} Nickel is high wherever it was measured: 3,600 µg/kg geometric mean at Tarkwa and 1,000 µg/kg dry weight in Owerri, Nigeria.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →}

Cooking and processing

Only one study measured household processing of plantain, and it gives within-study comparisons from the same samples.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Boiling and frying lowered lead in peeled pulp from 1,020–1,110 µg/kg to 40–70 µg/kg at both towns, while roasting left 130 µg/kg at Obuasi and 750 µg/kg at Akwatia.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Mercury fell from 130 to 40–50 µg/kg after boiling or frying of Akwatia plantain, but changed little at Obuasi or after roasting.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →}

These are changes in concentration on a basis the paper does not state, without moisture or mass-balance data, so they do not show how much metal left the food.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Arsenic changes sit at the paper’s 0.01 mg/kg reporting step and cannot be distinguished.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Plantain chips, a common processed form, had 0.75 µg/kg inorganic arsenic in the single monitoring record, just above its 0.66 µg/kg detection limit.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

Ripening is the other measured step. Plantain ripened with 10 or 30 g of calcium carbide per kg of fruit had 5,930 and 9,940 µg/kg total arsenic against 1,640 µg/kg in naturally ripened fruit from the same bunch, significant increases in the authors’ analysis.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} Lead rose to 143–183 µg/kg in the carbide groups, but the natural-ripening lead value is printed identically to the mango control, so that comparison is not used; cadmium stayed at 1–3 µg/kg without a significant change.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

Mitigation from farm to plate

Controls for plantain act at the farm, in the kitchen and at the lot test. The only measured control is household cooking in one Ghanaian study, where boiling and frying gave much lower lead concentrations than raw pulp and roasting gave less change.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Ripening without calcium carbide is supported by one controlled experiment in which carbide raised arsenic in plantain.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} Farm siting and lot testing rest on observational evidence and on the fruit limits of Codex, the EU and Colombia.^{3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →7Codex Alimentarius Commission · 1995General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995)Codex Alimentarius (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme)Read source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →}

Trade-offs and limits of controls

Cooking is not a substitute for clean supply. Even after boiling, plantain from the mining-river farms carried 60–70 µg/kg lead, more than every monitoring result except one, and roasting at Akwatia still left 750 µg/kg.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Mercury in Obuasi plantain stayed near 100–110 µg/kg after every method.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →}

Frying changed lead concentration about as much as boiling, but it adds oil and was tested only in the laboratory with fresh oil.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Moving away from a mining district is also not enough on its own: Tarkwa plantain was low in lead but still high in nickel, which transferred from soil more readily than any other metal.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →}

Testing plantain for metals

A useful plantain lead test must report the edible pulp, its basis and a limit well below 100 µg/kg.^{3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →} Monitoring laboratories reported lead limits of 1–5 µg/kg, while the Ghanaian processing study reported results only to 0.01 mg/kg (10 µg/kg) and gave no usable detection limit.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} The European arsenic submissions covered the whole fruit including inedible parts, two with a 20 µg/kg detection limit, so they cannot be compared with pulp results.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

State fresh or dry weight every time. The Tarkwa study labels its plantain results wet weight in one place and dry weight in another, and the Owerri study analysed dried powder without labelling its table.^{4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →} Arsenic in plantain was measured as total arsenic except in one plantain-chip record that measured inorganic arsenic, and the ripening study did not describe how it measured arsenic by AAS or its detection limit.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

Buying and verifying plantain

Ask for lot-specific lead results on the washed, peeled edible part, on a fresh-weight basis, with the laboratory’s quantification limit.^{3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →} The EU sets 0.10 mg/kg (100 µg/kg) lead for fruit other than a few named berries, wet weight after washing and separating the edible part; Codex and Colombia also set 0.1 mg/kg for fruit.^{3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →7Codex Alimentarius Commission · 1995General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995)Codex Alimentarius (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme)Read source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →} For cadmium the EU sets 0.020 mg/kg for bananas and 0.050 mg/kg for most other fruit, and Colombia sets 0.050 mg/kg; whether EU law files plantain under bananas was not confirmed for this review.^{3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →8Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion SocialRead source →}

Record the farm area and any nearby mining or polluted irrigation water, not only the market where the plantain was bought.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} Monitoring records give only a reporting region, and several submissions were imported, so the growing area of the highest monitoring result is unknown.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} Ask how the fruit was ripened, since carbide ripening raised arsenic in the one study that tested it.^{6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →}

Exposure from plantain

Plantain is a staple in parts of West Africa, so its metal content matters more there than its small share of most Western diets. The Ghanaian processing study assumed average consumption of 101.8 kg of plantain per person per year.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →} No source in the ledger estimates plantain’s share of dietary metal intake in a way that can be checked: the Ghanaian study’s intake and hazard tables do not follow from its own concentration table.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →}

For most plantain eaten cooked, the monitoring results suggest little lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} Where plantain grows beside mining-polluted rivers, the raw pulp was far above the 100 µg/kg fruit lead limit, and boiled or fried portions (40–70 µg/kg) still exceeded every monitoring result except the single 174 µg/kg import.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →3European Commission · 2023Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006Official Journal of the European UnionRead source →}

Evidence review and remaining gaps

This assessment covers every source record in the HMI library that is tagged to plantain or mentions it, every plantain row in WHO GEMS/Food, and library papers found by searching their text for plantain and its scientific name. Four studies had no source record and are proposed for addition, two of them checked against publisher PDFs supplied for this review; two other library papers measured only plantain leaves or pooled plantain with other vegetables and are not used.^{2Adjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, Frimpong SK · 2021Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaToxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838Read source →4Bortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, Mizukawa H, Ishizuka M · 2015Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015)Read source →5Orisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, Bede O · 2012Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaChemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77Read source →6Mode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, Dandare SU · 2026Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsInternational Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409Read source →} One Colombian study is access-blocked because its plantain-like results are only in an online supplement.^{11Unknown authors · 2023Health Risk Assessment for Human Exposure to Heavy MetalsPeer-reviewed articleRead source →}

The evidence is thin: five sampling families, no total diet study, very few monitoring records and no cultivar comparisons.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} Total diet studies and monitoring from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda and the plantain-eating countries of Latin America are the main gaps.

References identify the sources used in these answers. The Sources index preserves additional discovery links; inclusion there does not mean a source has been reviewed for this assessment. Corrections, completed searches, new direct evidence and changes in requirements should reopen the relevant answer.

Plantain FAQs

References

Works cited on this page, in citation-number order. See Sources for this page’s source inventory. Each title links to a source record with bibliographic details, reported findings, and document provenance.

1. GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsWorld Health Organization · GEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme · 2026 · extranet.who.intDataset
2. Effect of home processing methods on the levels of heavy metal contaminants in four food crops grown in and around two mining towns in GhanaAdjei-Mensah R, Ofori H, Tortoe C, Johnson PT, Aryee D, and Frimpong SK · Toxicology Reports 8 (2021) 1830–1838 · 2021 · doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.11.001Peer-reviewed
3. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006European Commission · Official Journal of the European Union · 2023 · eur-lex.europa.euRegulation
4. Accumulation of Heavy Metals and Metalloid in Foodstuffs from Agricultural Soils around Tarkwa Area in Ghana, and Associated Human Health RisksBortey-Sam N, Nakayama SMM, Akoto O, Ikenaka Y, Fobil JN, Baidoo E, et al. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2015) · 2015Peer-reviewed
5. Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of food crops and fruits in Owerri, South Eastern, NigeriaOrisakwe OE, Nduka JK, Amadi CN, Dike DO, and Bede O · Chemistry Central Journal 2012, 6:77 · 2012 · doi.org/10.1186/1752-153X-6-77Peer-reviewed
6. Effects of Chemical Ripening With Calcium Carbide on Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Climacteric FruitsMode AM, Magaji UF, Babatunde MS, Dandare A, Dabai IA, and Dandare SU · International Journal of Food Science 2026:7226409 · 2026 · doi.org/10.1155/ijfo/7226409Peer-reviewed
7. General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995)Codex Alimentarius Commission · Codex Alimentarius (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme) · 1995 · www.fao.orgGovernment
8. Resolucion Numero 4506 de 2013: niveles maximos de contaminantes en alimentosMinisterio de Salud y Proteccion Social · 2013Regulation
9. The Safety Assessment of Toxic Metals in Commonly Used Herbs, Spices, Tea, and Coffee in PolandKowalska G · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021 · doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115779Peer-reviewed
10. Toxic and Essential Metals in Staple Foods Commonly Consumed by Students in Ekiti State, South West, NigeriaIyabo OO, Ogundiran MB, and Adebayo OL · International Journal of Chemistry · 2015 · doi.org/10.5539/ijc.v7n1p155Peer-reviewed
11. Health Risk Assessment for Human Exposure to Heavy MetalsUnknown authors · Peer-reviewed article · 2023 · doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010435Peer-reviewed

Sources

Browse Plantain Sources for sources cited on this page and additional discovery candidates. The searchable index distinguishes verified citation use from discovery relationships whose relevance has not been established.

Update history

22 October 2026 — New page built from every plantain record in the library: WHO GEMS/Food plantain results, three Ghanaian and Nigerian field studies, a measured household-cooking comparison, a calcium-carbide ripening experiment, verified fruit limits and stage-led controls.