Toxic Trace Elements in Meat and Meat Products Across Asia:

Overview

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Key numbers

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1. They reported mean Pb levels of 0.074 µg/g in meat and 0.181 µg/g in offal, with
Sb) in samples of vegetables, fish, and meat purchased in 2014 from markets in Huainan.
mean Hg levels were found in duck (0.790 µg/g) and chicken (0.694 µg/g), while Pb levels
Cd concentrations were found in kidney (pig, sheep), 1711 µg/kg, in liver (pig, sheep),
68.3 µg/kg, in meat (from mammals other than pig), 3.7 µg/kg, in pig meat, 12.6 µg/kg,
pig meat to the total EDI of Cd ranged from 4.4% to 4.6% In another survey, Yin et al. (24)
found in the liver (THg: 23.2–3917.1 µg/kg; MeHg: 7.1–62.8 µg/kg), followed by the
blood (THg: 12.3–338.0 µg/kg; MeHg: 1.4–17.6 µg/kg). In chickens, the estimated Hg
collected in 2014 in Chengdu, China. The concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb (in µg/kg dry
with a percentage of 29.2% of the total intake of this metal.
was 3.22 µg/g (range: 2.75–4.04 µg/g), and the contribution of meat to the total Pb intake
(1400 µg/day) was 381.8 µg/day, surpassed only by the contribution from vegetables
below the recommended values, with intakes of 3.00, 2.14, 1.00, 0.57, and 3.57 µg/kg
The mean levels of Pb, Cd, Hg, and As in the meat samples were 0.044, 0.0237, 0.0056,
the MACs (0.09% for As, 0.19% for Hg, and 0.94% for Pb). Another recent study on this
was 2.11 × 10−4 , a value higher than those for the other food groups (fruits, vegetables,
meat products, with a median level of 0.258 µg/g for all analyzed meat samples. Overall,
dietary exposure to Ni was at acceptable levels, except for the age group between 0 and
intake (TDI) of 13 µg/kg body weight per day. However, the exposure to Ni from meat
elements, the total mean concentrations were 1.56 µg/g for meat and 39.8 µg/g for offal.
Regarding the potentially most toxic elements, Cr, Ni, and Pb were detected in 100% of
the analyzed samples, while Hg was found in 95%, Cd in 51.3%, and As in 21.3%. The
in Asian countries (excluding China) is shown in Table 2.
Nanjing Cr, As, Cd, Hg, Pb tenderloin and belly), 3.57 µg/kg bw/day for Pei et al. (32)
Zhejiang Province beef, mutton, chicken low percentages (0.09% Han et al. (34)
and duck for As, 0.19% for Hg,
and 0.94% for Pb)
Hg and Pb, are the following: As, 3.0 µg/kg bw/day (range: 2–7 µg/kg bw/day); Cd, 2.5 µg/kg bw/week; Hg,
4 µg/kg bw/week for inorganic Hg, and 1.3 µg/kg bw/week for MeHg, and Pb (not currently set; previously,
Table 2. A summary of scientific studies conducted in Asian countries (excluding China) in the
72% of the Cd levels and
66.7% of the Pb levels
and local foods like 0.147 µg/kg bw/day
Cd, Hg and Pb, are the following: As, 3.0 µg/kg bw/day (range: 2–7 µg/kg bw/day); Cd, 2.5 µg/kg bw/week;
Hg, 4 µg/kg bw/week for inorganic Hg, and 1.3 µg/kg bw/week for MeHg, and Pb (not currently set; previously,
(µg/g) of the analyzed elements ranged as follows: 0.03–2.73 for Pb, 0.01–0.015 for Cd,
chicken parts ranged as follows: 0.33 ± 0.2–4.6 ± 0.4 for Pb, 0.004 ± 0.0–0.125 ± 0.2 for
potential carcinogenicity were within acceptable limits. Bokthiar et al. (41) also measured
mum mean concentrations (µg/g) of these elements were as follows: As, 0.78 (liver) and
(EDI) ranges were 0.0002–0.0036 mg/day/person for As, 0.0002–0.0002 mg/day/person
11 farms across various regions of Thailand. The mean concentrations in duck meat were
of the Cd levels and 66.7% of the Pb levels exceeded the standards set by FAO/WHO.

Methods (brief)

(e.g., analyzed elements, animal species, sample types, sampling years, dietary habits, etc.),
concentrations in meat samples of 0.080 and 0.016 µg/g, respectively. In Hong Kong, Chen
Sb) in samples of vegetables, fish, and meat purchased in 2014 from markets in Huainan.
Regarding the mean concentrations of the most toxic elements in meat samples, the highest
liver), and blood of the three species were collected in 2015. The highest Hg levels were
During the 2013–2014 period, Hu et al. (25) collected samples of fresh chicken products
were determined in 29 food types, including pork, beef, and poultry. The samples were
collected in 2014 in Chengdu, China. The concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb (in µg/kg dry
weight) were as follows: in pork samples, As, 41.8; Cd, 2.06; Pb, 30.4; in beef samples, As,
44.9; Cd, 2.17; Pb, 32.6; and in poultry samples, As, 30.2; Cd, 2.79; Pb, 31.0. These results
(from the 5th TDS) collected between 2009 and 2013. Regarding meat and meat products,
areas of Nandan County. Food samples were collected from 24, 27, and 25 households
(wet weight). The associated metals in meat samples were found to range as follows: Pb
pork samples. The samples included muscle (shoulder, ham, loin, tenderloin, and belly)
measured Pb, Cd, Hg, and As levels in samples from 13 food groups purchased in Shenzhen
The mean levels of Pb, Cd, Hg, and As in the meat samples were 0.044, 0.0237, 0.0056,
meat samples (pork, beef, mutton, chicken, and duck) purchased from markets in the
0.801, 0.0038, 0.055, and 0.029 µg/g, respectively. Some samples exceeded the maximum

Implications

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Update history

The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.

Commit	Date	Change	Description
b01ec52c	2026-08-04	major	2 sections added
d49e450f	2026-08-03	major	5 sections added; narrative text revised