Overview
Igwemmar and Kakulu measured lead, cadmium, nickel, copper, iron, cobalt, manganese and zinc by flame AAS in gizzard, head and muscle of farm-raised and free-range chickens from Gwagwalada, Abuja. Lead was found in most parts of both chicken types, highest in muscle, while cadmium was detected only in farm-raised gizzard. Results are on a dry-weight basis.
Key numbers
- Farm-raised chicken muscle: lead 4.28 ± 3.67 µg/g dry weight, cadmium not detected (Table I).
- Free-range chicken muscle: lead 3.45 ± 0.02 µg/g dry weight, cadmium not detected (Table I).
- Farm-raised chicken gizzard: lead 3.07 ± 1.37 and cadmium 0.58 ± 0.36 µg/g dry weight (Table I).
Methods (brief)
Parts of the same type were pooled, washed, oven-dried at 105 °C, ground and digested with nitric acid on a hot plate in triplicate, then read by air-acetylene flame AAS. A reagent blank was used; no detection limits, certified reference materials or recoveries are reported. Arsenic and mercury were not measured.
Evidence Fitness
Pooled samples, no quality-control data and lead values of several µg/g dry weight that are high for chicken muscle make this low-confidence evidence. The journal is a small multidisciplinary title. Results are dry weight. Direct evidence for chicken meat within meat-and-poultry; for chicken broth it is a chicken meat proxy only.