Milk and dairy productsare avowed as rich source of dietary minerals. Globally, the popularity of ice cream is increasing due to its nutritional benefits and appealing tastes. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were: (a) to determine the concentration of macro-elements (K, Na, Mg, Ca, and P) in commercially available ice cream in Bangladesh; (b) to point out their contribution to our daily diet formulation. Based on the popularity, and availability, seven leading brands were selected and five samples from each brand were randomly purchased irrespective of their types, flavour, taste, and price. The concentration of macro-minerals were quantified using Inductively Coupled Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) and UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The average concentration (fresh weight) of studied elements had shown a descending order of Ca (1529.41±278.88) > K (1363.69±198.68) > P (1187.76±231.23) > Na (569.79±141.14) > Mg (194.90±68.59) mg.kg-1. Pearson’s correlation matrix among the different metals revealed a significant correlation between K-Na (r = 0.418) and K-Mg (r = 0.408) at p < 0.05 levels. The average estimated daily intake (EDI) of K, Na, Mg, Ca, and P were found 40.97, 17.12, 5.85, 45.94, and 35.68 mg.day-1, respectively, which indicated none of the studied samples exceeded the recommended daily allowance (RDA). The consumption of ice cream (30.04 g.day-1) showed 0.87-7.34% contributions of macro-elements to our daily diet. The present study concludes that ice cream could be considered as a possible source of essential minerals (especially Ca, and P). However, to assure the food quality and to create a balanced diet, regular monitoring of milk and dairy products is strongly recommended. تفاصيل المقالة

This research was carried out to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) and to assess the human health risk. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Target Cancer Risk (TCR) were measured and the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks were calculated. The concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb were below the permission limit proposed by the joint FAO/WHO. Transfer factor of heavy metals from soil to vegetables was calculated and the decreasing order was Cu (0.786) > Cd (0.759) > Zn (0.569) > Pb (0.432) > Mn (0.167) > Fe (0.050). Assessment of non-carcinogenic health hazards by THQ indicated no concern for individual Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb. But the combined impact of all metals (HI = 8.64775) was very high than the acceptable limit of 1.0 for all vegetables. So, the consumption of these vegetables were the prime concern for non-carcinogenic health effects and all metals together may affect the human health as revealed by HI. The probability of developing cancer from the consumption of studied vegetable was greater than USEPA threshold risk limit (>10–5) for Mn (2.8E–3), Pb (1.17E–4) and Cu (9.5E–4); (> 10–3) for Zn (2.15E–2) and Fe (1.45E–1). These values indicated moderate cancer risk for Mn, Cu and Pb, high cancer risk for Fe and Zn whereas Cd showed low cancer risk from this study area. تفاصيل المقالة