Overview
The authors measured lead, cadmium, nickel, copper, zinc and iron by flame atomic absorption in 88 artisanal cheeses (double cream, cream, oaxaca, panela, fresh, cotija, mozzarella and provolone) from Tabasco and Chiapas and calculated hazard quotients and cancer risk. Every sample is listed individually. Mean lead and cadmium were a few micrograms per kilogram and below FAO/WHO and Codex limits.
Key numbers
- Tabasco, all cheeses: lead 0.0047 ± 0.002 mg/kg (maximum 0.0125), cadmium 0.0023 ± 0.002 mg/kg (Table 1).
- Chiapas, all cheeses: lead 0.0051 ± 0.002 mg/kg (maximum 0.0089), cadmium 0.0023 ± 0.002 mg/kg (maximum 0.0077) (Table 2).
- Highest single cadmium value: double cream cheese, Huimanguillo, 0.0156 mg/kg (Table 1), above the printed Tabasco maximum of 0.0056 mg/kg.
Methods (brief)
One gram of chopped cheese was dry-ashed at 450 to 500 °C, treated with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and read by flame AAS. Results are on a fresh-weight basis. No detection limit, blank, certified reference material or recovery is reported, and some cadmium values are printed as zero.
Evidence Fitness
A useful per-sample dataset (n = 88) for regional artisanal cheese, but analytical quality is uncertain: flame AAS at sub-microgram-per-kilogram concentrations without a stated detection limit, and a summary maximum that does not match the sample rows. No collection dates. For the thin pages it was pulled for (cheese pizza, fromage frais), this is a cheese ingredient proxy; neither food was measured.