Overview
Rabiu and Abubakar measured cadmium, cobalt, arsenic, lead, chromium and aluminium by MP-AES in 20 infant formulas and 30 children’s food products from Gusau. Formula results are grouped by age stage and by formula type (milk-based, cereal-based, mixed). Children’s food results are summarized in the text, with per-product values only in bar charts.
Key numbers
- Milk-based formulas (n = 8): cadmium 2.00 ± 0.20 µg/g, lead 0.92 ± 0.03 µg/g (range ND to 3.50), arsenic 0.63 ± 0.02 µg/g (Table 3, p. 4).
- All formulas, abstract means: cadmium 2.500, arsenic 0.796, lead 0.563 µg/g.
- Children’s foods: cadmium mean 2.61 µg/g (0.50 to 4.00), lead 1.48 µg/g (up to 7.25) (Results, p. 4).
Methods (brief)
1.0 g digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide (3:1) on a hotplate, diluted to 50 mL; MP-AES. Spike recovery said to be done but not reported; no detection limits or reference material.
Evidence Fitness
Serious unit doubt: tables print µg/g, but the Discussion says cadmium was within a 0.040 mg/kg limit and arsenic only slightly above 0.1 mg/kg, which fits values about 10 to 100 times lower. The extraction keeps the printed values unconverted. Several means fall outside their ranges and two aluminium rows repeat the chromium rows. The milk-based formulas measure milk-based (non-soy) formula directly, but the data quality limits their use.