Overview
Harlia and colleagues measured lead and cadmium by atomic absorption in fresh farm milk, street-vendor pasteurized milk and a home-made toffee-like milk confection from the Bandung area of Indonesia. Fresh milk carried the most lead and street-vendor pasteurized milk the least. Cadmium results are shown only in a figure.
Key numbers
- Lead, fresh farm milk: mean 0.5578 ± 0.4308 ppm, CV 77.23% (Section 3, p. 2).
- Lead, pasteurized milk from street vendors: 0.0047 ± 0.0027 ppm (Section 3, p. 2).
- Lead, milk confection: 0.3173 ± 0.2990 ppm (Section 3, p. 2).
- The authors compare lead with a 1.00 ppm national limit and cadmium with a 0.01 ppm limit (Introduction).
Methods (brief)
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry; digestion, detection limits and quality control are not described. The data were analyzed descriptively against the national lead limit and an EPA cadmium limit.
Evidence Fitness
Short conference proceedings paper with no method detail, no quality control and no collection dates. Lead in fresh milk near 0.56 ppm is very high next to most surveys. The pasteurized milk came from three vendors and is not described by fat content, so it is not a measurement of reduced-fat milk. Cadmium is figure-only and the abstract and text disagree on the share of samples above the lead limit (57% vs 53%).