Risks assessment of toxic metals in canned meat and chicken

Overview

Morshdy and colleagues measured lead, cadmium, total arsenic, total mercury, aluminium, and tin in canned beef, canned corned beef, and canned chicken luncheon sold in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. The study reports product-category concentration summaries on a mg/kg wet weight (PPM) basis for n = 20 samples per category. It also calculates EDI, HQ, and HI values for Egyptian adult consumption assumptions; those exposure calculations are source-side context and are kept separate from the occurrence table.

Key numbers

• Article identity: Food Research 7 (1), pages 151 - 157, DOI 10.26656/fr.2017.7(1).710; received 9 October 2021, accepted 11 February 2022, available online 3 February 2023.
• Sample frame: 60 samples total, collected from grocery stores and hypermarkets in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt from April to October 2020; 20 samples each of canned beef, canned corned beef, and canned chicken luncheon.
• Detection limits (µg/g): lead (Pb) 0.01, cadmium (Cd) 0.005, arsenic (As) 0.02, mercury (Hg) 0.01, tin (Sn) 0.02, and aluminum (Al) 0.10. The source says detected levels were expressed as µg/g wet weight (µg/g WW) while Table 1 reports mg/kg wet weight (PPM).
• Table 1, canned beef (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): Pb positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.06, maximum 0.58, mean ± SE 0.35±0.04; Cd positive 17 (85%), minimum ND, maximum 0.10, mean 0.073±0.006; total arsenic (tAs) positive 13 (65%), minimum ND, maximum 0.42, mean 0.24±0.01.
• Table 1, canned beef (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): total mercury (tHg) positive 15 (75%), minimum ND, maximum 0.09, mean 0.075±0.003; Al positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.13, maximum 8.21, mean 3.92±0.53; Sn positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.9, maximum 11.62, mean 4.55±0.53.
• Table 1, canned corned beef (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): Pb positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.08, maximum 0.61, mean 0.39±0.04; Cd positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.03, maximum 0.12, mean 0.081±0.007; tAs positive 17(85%), minimum ND, maximum 0.48, mean 0.28±0.02.
• Table 1, canned corned beef (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): tHg positive 16 (80%), minimum ND, maximum 0.11, mean 0.086±0.003; Al positive 20 (100%), minimum 0.15, maximum 7.95, mean 4.02±0.49; Sn positive 20 (100%), minimum 1.18, maximum 12.36, mean 5.05±0.62.
• Table 1, canned chicken luncheon (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): Pb positive 18 (90%), minimum ND, maximum 0.45, mean 0.21±0.02; Cd positive 16 (80%), minimum ND, maximum 0.11, mean 0.071±0.007; tAs positive 15 (75%), minimum ND, maximum 0.44, mean 0.27±0.02.
• Table 1, canned chicken luncheon (mg/kg wet weight (PPM), n = 20): tHg positive 13 (65%), minimum 1.19, maximum 11.62, mean 4.51±0.55; Al positive 20 (100%), minimum 2.5, maximum 12.36, mean 5.05±0.62; Sn positive 20 (100%), minimum 1.14, maximum 10.50, mean 4.59±0.49.
• Table 1 acceptability counts by the source’s comparison limits: Pb 4 (20%), 3 (15%), and 7 (35%); Cd 8 (40%), 5 (25%), and 9 (45%); tAs 6 (30%), 5 (25%), and 9 (45%); tHg 5 (25%), 4(20%), and 7 (35%); Al 3 (15%), 2 (10%), and 4 (20%); Sn 20 (100%) for all three product groups.
• Table 2 EDI/HQ/HI: canned beef Pb EDI 0.273, HQ 0.068; Cd 0.057, 0.057; tAs 0.195, 0.648; tHg 0.059, 0.118; Al 3.060, 0.0031; Sn 3.520, 0.0058; HI 0.900.
• Table 2 EDI/HQ/HI: canned corned beef Pb EDI 0.311, HQ 0.078; Cd 0.063, 0.063; tAs 0.220, 0.735; tHg 0.067, 0.135; Al 3.144, 0.0032; Sn 3.940, 0.0065; HI 1.021.
• Table 2 EDI/HQ/HI: canned chicken luncheon Pb EDI 0.148, HQ 0.037; Cd 0.049, 0.049; tAs 0.187, 0.622; tHg 0.047, 0.093; Al 2.574, 0.0026; Sn 3.130, 0.0052; HI 0.809. Table 2 defines EDI as µg/kg/day.

Methods (brief)

The authors collected 20 samples each of canned beef, canned corned beef, and canned chicken luncheon from Sharkia Governorate retail outlets and stored them at room temperature until extraction. One gram of each sample was digested with 5 mL digestion solution containing 3 mL nitric acid 65% and 2 perchloric acids 70%, held at room temperature for 12 hrs, heated at 70 oC for 3 hrs with swirling every 30 mins, diluted with 20 mL DDW, filtered, and held for measurement. Pb, Cd, Al, and Sn were measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy; As and Hg were measured by hydride generation/cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. DORM-3 fish protein reference material was used for quality assurance.

Related evidence

• Lead
• Cadmium
• Arsenic, Total
• Mercury, Total
• Aluminum
• Tin
• Beef
• Chicken
• Meat and poultry
• Meat and Poultry
• Processed meats (sausage, deli meat, bacon, hot dogs)
• Beef
• Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck)
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs
• EU Regulation 2018/73 - Mercury-compound MRLs in food and feed

Update history

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