Nasser measured iron, zinc, copper, cadmium, lead, and nickel in 13 canned meat products purchased from retail markets in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October and November 2012. The study also characterized fungal contamination in the same products (the primary focus of the paper), but the heavy-metal results are the data used here. Analysis used flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The key finding is that lead was detected in 12 of 13 samples at concentrations above the 0.20 mg/kg permissible maximum used as the reference in this study, with values as high as 1.12 mg/kg; cadmium exceeded the 0.50 mg/kg reference limit in 4 of 13 samples; and nickel, where detected, also exceeded the 0.15 mg/kg reference limit in all three samples where it was found.
Key numbers
All concentrations mg/kg. Basis is not explicitly stated as wet or dry weight; the analytical procedure involved ashing at 450 degrees C followed by acid dissolution, then dilution to volume, and results are compared against published food limits, implying finished-product wet-weight equivalents. Tables 5 is the primary data table.
Iron (Fe): range 11.8 to 39.1 mg/kg across 13 cans; 9 of 13 samples (69 percent) exceeded the 20 mg/kg reference maximum. No upper regulatory limit for iron in canned meat is set by the EU or Codex; the 20 mg/kg reference derives from earlier Saudi and published food-safety thresholds cited by the author.
Zinc (Zn): range 5.2 to 28.0 mg/kg; all samples below the 50 mg/kg reference maximum. Three samples had no detectable copper.
Copper (Cu): range not detected to 3.6 mg/kg; all samples below the 10 mg/kg reference maximum.
Cadmium (Cd): range not detected to 0.62 mg/kg; 4 of 13 samples (samples 1, 5, 7, and 9 at 0.61, 0.62, 0.61, and 0.53 mg/kg respectively) exceeded the 0.50 mg/kg reference maximum. These exceed the EU maximum of 0.050 mg/kg for meat under Commission Regulation 1881/2006.
Lead (Pb): range not detected to 1.12 mg/kg; 12 of 13 samples had detectable lead; all 12 detectable samples exceeded the 0.20 mg/kg reference maximum cited by the author. The highest single value was sample 2 at 1.12 mg/kg. All 12 also exceeded the EU maximum of 0.10 mg/kg. Sample 4 had no detectable lead.
Nickel (Ni): detected in 3 of 13 samples at 0.28, 0.77, and 0.21 mg/kg (samples 11, 12, and 13); all three exceeded the 0.15 mg/kg reference maximum cited by the author.
Exceedance summary: 12 of 13 samples exceeded the author’s reference limit for lead (and all 12 also exceeded the EU maximum of 0.10 mg/kg); 4 of 13 exceeded the cadmium reference; 3 of 3 nickel-detected samples exceeded the nickel reference.
Methods (brief)
Sampling: Riyadh supermarkets and shopping malls, October to November 2012. Sample preparation: microwave-assisted acid digestion with hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (3:1 v/v), followed by muffle furnace ashing at 450 degrees C for 90 minutes; dissolution in HCl; final volume adjusted to 100 mL. Analysis: flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). LOD and LOQ are not stated for individual elements. CRM and recovery data are not reported.
Evidence fitness
Supports: lead, cadmium, nickel, iron, zinc, and copper occurrence in canned meat products from the Riyadh retail market in 2012. Supports comparison of measured values against the reference limits cited by the author. Does not support inorganic arsenic or mercury speciation (not measured). Does not support wet vs dry weight distinction (not stated). Does not represent global markets; sample set is 13 cans from a single city at a single sampling point. Recovery data are not reported, limiting ability to assess analytical accuracy.
Limitations
Small sample size (n=13). LOD and LOQ are not reported, so the significance of “not detected” values cannot be assessed. Recovery and CRM data are absent; bias cannot be evaluated. The reference limits used (0.20 mg/kg Pb, 0.50 mg/kg Cd, 0.15 mg/kg Ni) are derived from older published references, not from the current EU or Codex maxima; using the EU limits (0.10 mg/kg Pb, 0.050 mg/kg Cd) would increase the apparent exceedance rate further. Sampling was 2012; product formulations and tin-plate quality may have changed.
Related evidence
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